Tačno osam godina i jedan dan prošlo je od kada je Michael James Wallace Ashley kupio Newcastle United. Tačno toliko je i trebalo da se dotični gospodin kao vlasnik Newcastle United-a, po prvi put obrati javnosti i progovori preko Sky Sportsa. Pitanja mu je postavljao novinar Sky Sportsa David Craig, na samo desetak minuta pre meča sa West Ham United-om.
Just how disappointed are you to arrive here today and find Newcastle in this situation?
I can't have really imagined it from Christmas, I probably didn’t anticipate we would be anywhere near this situation. Obviously after the last couple of weeks I’m still a little bit shocked by where we find ourselves today.
The fans want to know who's responsible. In your opinion is it collective responsibility or does it stop at your door?
My door.
What will do if the worst happens to this football club today and it falls into the Championship?
If you're talking about investing in a club I will continue a policy of investing in the football club.
Will you invest enough to make sure it comes back at the first attempt to the Premier League?
Yes if there is such a thing, if you're able to guarantee that I would like to say I could guarantee that, that investment but obviously the results is not something that I (indecipherable end to sentence).
If the best happens and you stay in the Premier League today, what's your plan for the club?
Well on the only positive I think, we've got the club on a very sound financial footing so we are able to spend relatively and punch above our weight now with the current financial situation that the club finds itself in.
If you hadn't come in to this club when you did and cleared the debt, where do you think it would be?
Financially not as strong. But unfortunately, I'm going to add to that that that really isn't good enough so it's no good having the horse and cart scenario. And we may have the cart financially but we now need to bolt the horse on - and we're going to.
What's your ambition for the club?
It's now going to be definitely to win something – and by the way, I shan't be selling it until I do.
Can we just be clear on that, because there's been so much rumour whether you might, might not - the club is not for sale?
Not at any price.
And by the way, when I say win something, if we ever get in a position that we get a Champions League place, that also qualifies as winning something.
What's your message to the fans today?
Today we don't need to be unlucky - not today - but but from this day forward, we will definitely be making our own luck.
There are obviously one or two things to be sorted out come the end of the season. Can we expect you and your advisors to be acting on that fairly imminently with regards to appointments with managers and such like?
On that basis it's Lee Charnley and the Football Board that make those decisions, as it was Derek Llambias who
brought in Alan Pardew. So I will not be picking the next manager, it's not what I do.
My job is make sure that they have a maximum amount of financial resources and it's their job to get the best pound for pound value out of those resources.
To be very clear, you're here to stay and you want to make this club successful?
"To be categorically clear, I'm not going anywhere until we win something."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6X_zJWnox8
