NUFC supporters demanding regime change

Oct 3 2009 The Journal

ANGRY supporters and footballers last night blasted Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley and backed Kevin Keegan after the club was ordered to hand over £2m compensation to the former manager.

The signing of Uruguayan midfielder Ignacio Gonzalez against Keegan's wishes, was the catalyst for his acrimonious departure from the club in September last year.

And yesterday supporters claimed the Newcastle hierarchy should take responsibility for their actions and called for Mike Ashley to move on.

Mark Jensen, editor of The Mag fanzine, said: "This reinforces the fact that the club needs to be run in a completely different way and supporter involvement is absolutely crucial to ensuring this type of thing never happens again.

"The Gonzalez part of the fiasco just takes your breath away and destroys any scrap of credibility that the Ashley regime might have still had.

"As always it's left to the fans of Newcastle United to stand alone as proof that their football club is indeed a great one. A takeover by people who have the true interests of the supporters at heart can't come soon enough."

Last night former Newcastle United midfielder, Rob Lee, backed Keegan.

He said: "Kevin Keegan is a man of principles and most importantly he was good at buying players – it’s a shame he wasn’t given the opportunity to do that.

"If he was given a promise then people should have fulfilled those promises. It’s not good for the club’s reputation but I think the fans will be quite pleased that Kevin has cleared his name.

"I think that was important for Kevin too because he’s that sort of person."

Last night Newcastle United fans claimed they had been let down by the club’s owners. Gary Cordner, 47, a business development manager from Morpeth, Northumberland, said: "If the club gave the media regular information then there wouldn’t be a problem.

"They’ve made an attempt to run it the way they run a hobby or business. I don’t think I’m really concerned about players coming in and not playing, or the amount of money claimed. It comes down to whoever is running the club and putting the team out – that’s all that matters."

Keith Patterson, 44, an engineer from Bedlington, Northumberland, was most shocked by the sums involved in the claim.

He said: "Most people will be on the side of Keegan. We’ve gone through several years of the club lying to fans so it’s nothing new. The shocking thing for me is that he only got £2m."

A spokesman for the Newcastle United Supporters Trust said: "The result of the tribunal exonerates Kevin Keegan completely and raises further questions about the current regime at the club.

"How can supporters take anything issued by the current regime with any seriousness?"