Super Ted
Striker
failure to invest in the squad when we randomly got into Europe,
failure to invest in the academy,
neglect of training ground,
consistently employing out of favour managers or untested coaches like; Keegan, Kinnear, Hughton, Pardew, Carver, McClaren, Bruce
no long term strategy,
Panic buying in January window, rather than sensibly in the summer
Conflict with players/managers who have ambitions for more (Keegan, Shearer, Barton/Nolan/et al, Hughton, Benitez)
Quotes in the press re: cup campaigns being too big a risk, or 'ticking along',
and it is the consensus outside a few on here that it is the case that Mike Ashley has little interest in Newcastle United as long as it remains a top flight side.
Maybe this failure to invest in the squad when 'randomly' getting into Europe was down to the fact the squad was invested in prior to getting into Europe? That season you brought in Yohane Cabaye, Papiss Cisse, Demba Ba & Davide Santon, smart investment was made that year and you had a good side. You all seem to tell us how good Hatem Ben Arfa and Cheikh Tiote were, You also had Collocini & Krul that year, alongside those mentioned above so unsure how it was so shocking that that side, made it into Europe. Ashley does not have an endless pit of money, he has admitted this on several occasions, I'm unsure how much clearer he can make it that you need to cut your cloth accordingly.
You then didn't recruit very well the following summer, point accepted, but you then looked to rectify that in January bringing in Debuchy, M'Biwa, Gouffran, Sissoko and M'Babu, which seemed to follow a trend of bringing in promising French players, who at the time, you held a French day for due to the apparent success of Graham Carr, the chief scouts recruitment policy.
The neglect of the training grounds point is accepted, however I also think this point is reeled out in every debate because of the infamous photos of the players cooling off in a paddling pool rather than a luxurious swimming pool - Whether you like it or not, this has little to zero impact on whether a footballer will either make it or not. Over the last few seasons Newcastle have had two academy products in the Longstaff brothers playing Premiership football. You also had an academy graduate that netted the club 35 million for the sale of him to Liverpool. You have an academy graduate in Dummett that would make at least the squad every week, when fit. You have had an academy graduate, Woodman, in goal this season in the Premiership. You have also had players who have came through the academy and went onto have decent careers in Fraizer Forster, James Tavernier & Adam Armstrong. It's an absolute myth that the academy is a non-functioning, unsuccessful unit. It's simply because you haven't got a glamorous training facility.
I'm not really sure how you can list Keegan, Hughton & Pardew when they performed pretty well as managers for Newcastle, regardless of the reputation beforehand. Your current owner also employed Rafa Benitez and his backroom staff who you all worshipped, but again, state Mike Ashley lacks any ambition whatsoever.
I dislike Steve Bruce, I think he's hopeless, but whatever comes out of his mouth is going to be twisted to suit your fans agenda. If he hadn't used the quote 'ticking along' and opted for something more optimistic, he would be berated for being delusional or told to resign if he's not getting the backing that he wants, he literally can't win.
His full quote was actually this " We want to be up amongst the big boys competing at the other end of the table and, unfortunately, that’s not possible at this moment, is it?” said a manager disappointed to be, once again, without the injured Callum Wilson in attack.
“That’s the frustration. Do you not think I want better players? Do you not think I want a better squad and to have the ability to go out and compete at the top end of the transfer market? That’s not possible, so I have to accept it and get on with my job as best I can. In these difficult moments I hope my experience can steer us along the right path. The situation’s not great – I understand that – but that’s where we are.”