TalkSPORT release pathetic Mike Ashley poll set up to make NUFC fans look stupid

by Olly Hawkins · 13 August 2018, 21:59

TalkSPORT are the latest ones to jump to the defence of Mike Ashley, releasing one of the most pathetic and biased polls you're likely to see after the NUFC owner's latest move to spend £90m on House of Fraser.

Before we get into it, here's the poll - an unfair and leading question from a chat show that claims to be unbiased..

https://twitter.com/talkSPORTDrive/status/1029011729399906304

Adrian Durham is at it again folks - and it's not really on.

If it's Mike's own money and he can do with that as he pleases, but the point has been woefully missed here in an attempt to defend Ashley, mislead your average football fan and make us NUFC fans look quite stupid once again. We don't expect to see Ashley's own money invested (those days are long gone) but we do expect him to spend the money the CLUB generates.

The poll is CLEARLY angled in a way that defends Mike Ashley's purchase of House of Fraser, whilst completely belittling our argument as fans in the process, woefully missing the point regarding our frustrations about the lack of spending at NUFC this summer.

We're not asking him to go into his own pocket and spend £90m on new players (we don't expect that from an owner that 'wants out'), but it is completely reasonable to expect him to spend the money the CLUB generates - just as he promised back in May and has since failed to deliver.

We gained £123m as a club over the 2017/18 season, the first instalment of TV payments will have handed us an extra £40m back in July and our player sales this summer have totalled in excess of £40m also. All that and a net spend of MINUS £20M.

Here are some of the responses to the poll on Twitter:

"This is perhaps the most outrageously-loaded question I've ever seen. Our issue isn't what Mike Ashley does with his PRIVATE funds of £90m - that's HIS business. OUR ISSUE is what he does with the money the CLUB GENERATES/TV money. Do your research."

'Question for you talkSPORT - What shouldn't Mike #Ashley have done in the last few years running #NUFC and @SportsDirectUK: 1) Ostracize a player with cancer: or 2) Have thousands of employees on zero hour contracts, fearful of taking sick leave. Simple question.'

'His business interests are separate and funded from separate areas of his holding companies. The money made from NUFC should be reinvested in that. As he promised. The money from other business affairs is invested elsewhere. Your poll is as dumbed down as we have come to expect'

'The money spent on house of Fraser was never money that could have been spent on players. House of Fraser was bought by Sports Direct. #NUFC is part of MASH holdings. Seperate accounts, seperate entities entirely. The question is loaded and pointless.'

'The two have absolutely no correlation, to even put this out as a vote shows your complete lack of knowledge and ignorance. We aren’t asking him to spend HIS £90m, we’re asking him to spend money OUR CLUB has inherited through sales of OUR assets and through OUR performance'

'Totally unfair and loaded question.'

"This tweet demonstrates complete ignorance and missing the point. Newcastle fans are not asking him to invest more money, simply asking him to spend the money the club itself is generating."