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Lee Charnley ambushed by Newcastle United fan and quizzed about Mike Ashley – A must watch/read

5 years ago
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Great work by one Newcastle fan, as on Thursday night he caught up with Lee Charnley.

The Newcastle fan filming the ‘interchange’ between himself and the Newcastle United Managing Director.

Lee Charnley initially was ok with the conversation but then very quickly was on his toes once he was asked the first question.

That question being: ‘I’m a confused supporter of Newcastle United. I was just wondering if you could confirm if any payments have been made by Sports Direct for advertising in the club?’

That question met by silence from Mike Ashley’s puppet.

Then every other question getting the same response.

(Just in case anybody wondered about the use of the word ‘ambushed’ in the headline. In this context its meaning is to ‘Confront someone suddenly and unexpectedly with unwelcome questions’)

No swearing or ranting from the Newcastle fan in question but Lee Charnley refusing to reply.

You can read and/or watch the full ‘exchange’ below and great to see this Newcastle fan putting himself out, to ask the kind of questions we would all like to ask.

Questions that are never ever put to the likes of Lee Charnley as he isn’t permitted by Mike Ashley to freely meet the media, as those with similar job titles at other clubs do so.

There was an interview allowed with some invited journalists early in 2018, where they were only allowed to ask Lee Charnley questions on a restricted range of issues.

The only other interview I can recall Charnley being allowed to do by his boss, was a fair few years ago when Mark Douglas from the Chronicle was allowed to speak to him.

Other than this, you only have the joke that is the official Newcastle United Fans Forum, where the supporters do their best but the club decides when meetings are and frequently cancels them at will, where they (the club) set the agenda, where they get rid of anybody they want to from the fans forum if they choose to do so – without any vote, where they produce the minutes and even if they are not approved by everyone (the NUST representative didn’t accept the September 2018 minutes as a fair/true record of what had happened and/or been said) they are still put out to the public.

The vast majority of Newcastle fans have been fully supportive of the supporter who quizzed Lee Charnley last night, though a small number have reacted negatively to it.

I can understand why some of the latter might feel this way because it could be seen as uncomfortable viewing watching the exchange, as you imagine yourself in Charnley’s shoes.

However, nobody has forced Lee Charnley to take on this role as a stooge for Mike Ashley. Neither the fans or media believing for one second that he (Charnley) makes the major decisions at the club, with instead Ashley’s man Justin Barnes, from his inner circle of associates, being the owner’s main man where the running of the football club is concerned, despite him having no official title.

The same to an extent with Keith Bishop, I would be amazed if Mike Ashley took more notice of Lee Charnley than even his PR minion.

The simple fact is, this club is absolutely rotten and Lee Charnley is clearly part of the problem, not part of any solution.

The media, especially locally, should be giving the club a far harder time, they should be regularly ridiculing them for refusing open and reasonable access to Justin Barnes, Lee Charnley and Mike Ashley himself.

Yes, we know they have a difficult job in trying to engage with the Ashley regime, but that is exactly why they should be regularly shaming them for not giving the fans, via the media, access to the people who run their football club.

A massive part of the problem is that after 12 years of this, the media and indeed many Newcastle fans, have been ground down so far and the shocking way the club is run, is simply seen as the norm and doesn’t shock many of us as it should do.

It is embarrassing when you have things such as the Miguel Almiron signing and we have the media ‘quoting’ Lee Charnley on at last ‘opening up’ to the newspapers…this opening up/quotes simply part of a press release, with quotes attributed to Lee Charnley.

I believe that as much as I did the Joe Kinnear column that used to appear in the match programme, the club eventually admitting that it wasn’t written by him (Kinnear).

This is the exchange and the video of it below:

Newcastle fan:

“Hi Lee”

Lee Charnley:

“Hi”

Newcastle fan:

“I’m a confused supporter of Newcastle United.

“I was just wondering if you could confirm if any payments have been made by Sports Direct for advertising in the club?”

Lee Charnley:

SILENCE

Newcastle fan:

“Lee, I’m a supporter who is considering whether to renew my season ticket, I ave had a season ticket for 31 years.

“I was just wondering, does Mike Ashley pay anything for advertising at Newcastle United?”

Lee Charnley:

SILENCE

Newcastle fan:

“I’m asking on behalf of about 40,000 season ticket holders like myself, Lee.”

Lee Charnley:

SILENCE

Newcastle fan:

“I’m not going to cause you no problems, I would just like you to answer the question if you could.”

Lee Charnley:

SILENCE

Newcastle fan:

“Does Mike Ashley pay anything for advertising within the club.”

Lee Charnley

SILENCE

Newcastle fan:

“No offence to you but are you just another shill (stooge), similar to Joe Kinnear.

“There to take the blame, for what he (Mike Ashley) is doing at the club?”

Lee Charnley:

SILENCE

Newcastle fan:

“Because to be honest, your published salary (£150,000) suggests that is the case.”

Lee Charnley:

SILENCE

Newcastle fan:

You are paid less than the Gillinham…CEO/MD, whatever you want to call him, (as well as) the Walsall one.

“I think that’s the truth, isn’t it Lee?

“You don’t actually run the club, you are there to take the blame aren’t you?

Lee Charnley:

SILENCE

Newcastle fan:

“Have a good night.”

Lee Charnley

SILENCE

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