Reading fans comment on Mike Ashley takeover – Some classics, especially about Newcastle United fans…

Mike Ashley looks to at last be set to take over another football club.

Reading have been in a total mess, on and off the pitch, for some time and their fans looking for a saviour.

That saviour apparently a straight choice / battle between William Storey and Mike Ashley, with apparently (I know nowt about him) Storey a hated figure and anybody other than him will be a better option.

So as you can see from the comments by Reading fans below, their hopes resting on Mike Ashley.

The team currently rock bottom of League One with only six points from 14 matches and a total financial mess off it.

I am very amused by so many of these comments, very much a repeat of what happened when Mike Ashley was after Coventry and Derby.

Their fans also debating whether Mike Ashley was a necessary evil to save their club(s) from potentially disappearing altogether, however, it ending up with much of the debate for many of those Coventry and Derby fans ending up in abusing Newcastle United fans!

Here we go with round three…

Obviously it will be interesting watching from afar if Mike Ashley does indeed become the saviour of Reading fans.

Reading fans reacting to news that Mike Ashley looks set to to take over their club, the Reading supporters commenting via their Hob Nob message board:

‘Newcastle were the seventh best run club in the PL under Mike Ashley.

Flashed the cash just before he left as well….likes of 40 mill for JoelLinton which has turned into a bit of a bargain. There’s 2 sides to the Coventry story as well, he wasn’t the 100% guilty party.

Looking at the behaviour of Newcastle and Rangers fans, the sense of entitlement is pathetic.

I’ll always remember Newcastle fans as fat thugs that punch horses, then make out what a fun bunch they are.

I went up there with some Arsenal fans…..absolute w..kers. The main thing they hated him for was because he was from the south.

Anyway he has local links, first ever shop was in Maidenhead.’

‘Obviously pure speculation, but just read an article suggesting Ashley might bring back Pards if he were to take us over.’

‘On an 8 year contract…’

‘Newcastle fans warning us how dire it will be – have they seen our current situation?

Newcastle moaning about Ashley always reminded me of Utd and the Glaziers. Maybe not investing as fans want, but not running the club into ruin. It’s the entitlement of the big clubs that is the issue. He’ll do just fine at a club crying out for sensible management and stability.’

‘Newcastle fans have ideas above their station and think they should be winning the PL every season. We just want someone who will run our club sensibly.’

‘I think I could manage to live with Ashley as owner.

Wouldn’t listen to Newcastle fans, they’ve always been an entitled bunch.’

‘I think when you pull in 50,000 every game, it’s not unreasonable to think being happy with 13th is a low level of ambition.

If he took us over, and in five years we are still in League One, but stable, fans would be saying he needs to go.’

‘It will be the Sports Direct or House of Fraser Stadium – Ashley seems to prefer to promote his business interests.’

‘I reckon with Storey saying that he’s in pole position, he and his consortium might well be the ones offering the most shekels…

Most Shekels

William Storey: net worth 29 million, no companies currently trading, all wound up.

Mike Ashley: net worth £2.995bn companies owned and currently trading.’

‘Mike Ashley won’t pay over the odds for our basket case though. Just 12 months ago he walked away from the Derby takeover as they rejected his initial £50m offer. They were in administration and Ashley will be fully aware we are on the brink too.’

‘So many idiotic people on Twitter moaning about Mike Ashley coming in.

“WE WANT A NEW OWNER”

“NO NOT THAT ONE”

Grow up. Mike Ashley would at a minium get things back on the straight and narrow.’

‘Yep I’ve been shocked at how much hate there is towards Mike Ashley. Are they stupid? We ain’t getting anyone better than Ashley.

‘The truth is, most people on the socials don’t have the first clue about football in general or the club in detail.

They’ve seen years of Ashley getting hate from Newcastle fans so it’s just taken as read he’s awful.

Plus he’s a pretty odious toad of a man.’

‘I’d be in favour of Ashley personally. Not the most glamorous person ever, but how he ran Newcastle is exactly how we need to be run going forwards.’

‘Newcastle are a middling top tier side who occasionally fall out and occasionally flirt with Europe. Nothing more.

That’s pretty much how I have always seen them. The West Ham of the north if you will.’

‘Probs, but with football these days being all about zillionaire’s playing dogs pi..ing up the wall, I fully expect the Saudi royal family will just keep chucking silly money at them in order to get one up on the Mansoors. Just a matter of time, IMHO.’

‘Newcastle haven’t spent as much as Everton yet but are light years ahead of them.’

‘TBF though they have employed wisely in the manager, something not seen at Reading since the days of SJM – and EH deserves to win something.’

‘Judging by the photos it appeared the following were at the stadium;

David Daly from Frasers Group Board
Robert Palmer, Frasers Company Secretary
Michael Murray
Keith Bishop
Justin Barnes’

‘Reading are the club that Newcastle could have been.’

‘It seems almost fate that Joorabchian will arrange the sale to Storey over Ashley as the final dagger into the club’s back.’

‘We need someone like Mike Ashley tbh. He and his team have a track record of getting clubs back on track and financially sound.’

‘At the time Ashley took over Newcastle, only Man Utd regularly had higher average attendances; Arsenal had just moved into their new ground – so Newcastle would be expected to be the third highest after that takeover. Man City and Liverpool have expanded their stadia since, whilst West Ham and Tottenham are in bigger grounds that they had. Now 50,000 is nothing special in the Premier League.’

‘Everton, Arsenal, Derby, Liverpool, Leeds, Forest, Villa, Man Utd, Blackburn, Chelsea, Man City, Leicester, Sunderland, West Ham, Southampton, Ipswich, Spurs, Coventry, Wimbledon, Portsmouth, Wigan, Stoke, Wolves, Norwich, Oxford, Luton, Sheffield Wednesday, Middlesbrough and Swansea have won a major trophy more recently than Newcastle United.’

‘Definitely hoping for Ashley, someone who knows a bit about football too – that’ll be a first for a Reading owner.’

‘Looking at our current owner and where we are headed, and seeing what Ashley did at Newcastle, I would be happy if he was to take over.’

‘I think the issue with Newcastle was they were largely a top six club for most of the decade prior to him purchasing the club. They ended up becoming a lower mid-table club under Ashley due to the financial model he employed.’

‘I would literally walk away from the club if Storey became owner.

Ashley is perfect and we would be run properly and hopefully never end up in this position again for an age.’