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Journalist said Lee Charnley should be asked these questions, so why did it not happen?

6 years ago
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Lee Charnley has been making headlines.

The Newcastle United Managing Director giving an ‘interview’ with various journalists who cover the club, both for local and national newspapers.

It was three and a half years since his last interview, when Lee Charnley spoke to Mark Douglas of the Chronicle was granted an audience, although many fans saw the whole thing as staged and simply a PR statement from Mike Ashley and his minions.

Since January 2015 it has just been Lee Charnley’s name used on quotes in statements released by Newcastle United, Charnley seen as a patsy employed on the (relative) cheap to be the chump who is often blamed by supporters when things go wrong, as a shield for Mike Ashley.

He is easily the worst paid Managing Director/Chief Executive in the Premier League, leading people to believe he is more office manager than MD. The same newspapers who interviewed Lee Charnley this week, have regularly reported in the past on Ashley’s shadowy figures Justin Barnes and Keith Bishop being the ones who wield the power at St James Park on Ashley’s behalf, rather than Charnley.

The wages say it all, Lee Charnley ‘runs’ Newcastle United for £150,000 per year, whilst the likes of those at Arsenal and other clubs are paid £2m+, even Sunderland’s outgoing Martin Bain was on £1.2m.

Lee Charnley is put up at the Fans Forum (where fans are selected by the club) as the voice/power of Newcastle United and after the latest Fans Forum last month (the first in almost a year), supporters were once again left asking why the proper questions that needed answering, hadn’t been asked – or if they had been, where were those questions & answers?

The Chronicle did an excellent piece after the minutes were released, listing exactly those questions that should have been asked and answered at the fans forum.

Journalist Chris Waugh posing those questions in this piece:

3 May 2018 – The Chronicle:

What is Justin Barnes’ role? And 7 other key issues not addressed in Newcastle’s Fans Forum minutes

Newcastle United released the minutes from last month’s Fans Forum earlier this week – but these issues were not addressed

But there were many pressing topics which were not addressed. That may be because the questions were not put forward, in which case there is no way the club could have responded to these queries, but they remain issues which need commenting upon.

Here, NUFC Writer Chris Waugh selects eight key questions which were not addressed at the latest Fans Forum…

The answers we need:

What is Justin Barnes’ role at the club? And is he an official employee?

Are the club still considering redeveloping the training ground?

What are the exact scope of “discussions” between the club and Benitez? Will he be allowed to sign “experienced” players this summer?

How will the club deal with a shortened transfer window?

Do the club match Benitez’s ambitions?

Will the uncertainty over the future ownership of the club impact upon “football-related matters”?

Will the singing section at St James’ Park continue into next season?

What is the situation with the Under-23s? And are there any plans to improve the Academy set up?’

Whilst there were many other questions that should have also been asked… (Why is Commercial Revenue so low? Why do Sports Direct not pay for advertising/promotion after the club promised this was going to happen a couple of years ago? Why is there no feasibility study being done on increasing the SJP capacity and why is Mike Ashley doing a private retail/leisure development on land opposite the Gallowgate, that will prevent any significant future increase in capacity? What is the relationship between Sports Direct and the NUFC club shop/merchandising and do Newcastle United make any money from this arrangement? And so on…), the Chronicle ones were pretty good.

I only chose the Chronicle as it fitted in so well, the fact they had so recently listed these questions as ones that had to be answered, it could have been pretty much any of the other journalists/newspapers as they have regularly posed many of the questions above, saying why do the club never answer anything of substance.

Moving forward three weeks after his Chronicle piece and Chris Waugh is one of those invited to meet Lee Charnley (are Justin Barnes and/or Keith Bishop there as well stage managing the process? Who knows).

In his article on the interview/stage managed meeting, there is no mention at all by Chris Waugh of ‘What is Justin Barnes’ role at the club’, or ‘Is he an official employee?’, or ‘What has happened to the essential new training complex promised some years ago?’, or ‘What is happening in the club discussions with Rafa Benitez?’, or ‘Will the club bow to Rafa’s public request to revamp the Academy?’, or ‘Why is the club claiming that it was a £90m loss in 2016/17 when that is largely down to accountancy tools and the real loss is less than £20m?’…

You can’t blame any of the journalists, Chris Waugh or whoever, for doing the Lee Charnley ‘interview’ but to suggest that it is a ‘warts and all’ open question and answer would be laughable.

The journalists were clearly limited in what they could be asked and/or in what would be answered, with the focus by the club being on getting out a positive spin on Mike Ashley.

It is an interview that raises more questions than it provides answers and leaves me/you wondering what exactly Mike Ashley is up to, rather than meeting up with Rafa Benitez and setting the club on a positive, ambitious, and transparent, path to success.
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