Freddy Shepherd is a businessman and chairman of Newcastle United, best known for bringing Michael Owen to the club in 2005. In 1998, he became infamous for making disparaging comments about his own club's supporters in a tabloid newspaper. Shepherd has also courted controversy among football fans by sacking legendary manager Bobby Robson and replacing him with Graeme Souness, then in charge of a struggling Blackburn, and also for insisting that big clubs have no responsibility towards lower league clubs. On Saturday November 2006, after Newcastle United's defeat against Sheffield United, fans held a protest outside the main entrance of St James Park calling for Shepherd and the board to be sacked, calling chants of "Sack The Board" and "Shepherd Out." A Chairman is the presiding officer of a meeting, organization, committee, or other deliberative body. ... For the Australian soccer club see Newcastle United (Australia). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Graeme James Souness (born Edinburgh, Scotland, 6 May 1953) is a former professional football player and manager. ... For the Australian soccer club see Newcastle United (Australia). ... Sheffield United F.C. are a football club in The Football League. ...

Background

Before achieving wide-spread recognition at Newcastle United, Shepherd had established his reputation as part-owner of a successful business. Along with his brother, Bruce, and business partner Neil McGurk, he jointly owns Shepherd Offshore, a marine and offshore services company based in Newcastle upon Tyne. Bruce, also an NUFC board member, is widely believed by many to be the driving force behind the family's business success and financial strength through his role as managing director of the Shepherd Offshore business. The family also owns the Mitford Hall estate in Northumberland. This article is about a city in the United Kingdom. ... Mitford Hall is a Georgian mansion house and Grade II* listed building standing in its own 85 acre park overlooking the River Wansbeck at Mitford, Northumberland. ...

Shepherd was a Newcastle United shareholder in the 1980s, and became part of Sir John Hall's consortium that took over the club in December 1990. By Shepherd's own account, he became involved in the takeover when Sir John Hall, a family friend, called him and suggested he speak to Hall's son, Douglas, about the club's dire financial situation[1]. The takeover was successful, and Shepherd was appointed to the board. In December 1996, Shepherd became chairman after Sir John Hall stepped down; Douglas Hall was appointed deputy chairman. A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or company (including a corporation) that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a joint stock company. ... Sir John Hall (b. ... A takeover in business refers to one company (the acquirer, or bidder) purchasing another (the target). ...

His general approach to running the club, as well as the ongoing fallout from the News of the World story, have earned Shepherd a number of unflattering nicknames such as "The Fat Parasite"[2],the "Fat Controller"[3] and "Baron Greenback"[4]. Sir Topham Hatt, the Fat Controller is the head of the railway in The Railway Series of books written by Rev. ... DangerMouse is a British animated television series which was produced by Cosgrove Hall Films. ...

On 20 August 2006, it was rumoured that Sir John Hall had been approached to sell his stake in the club to a private equity group called Belgravia. If the rumour is true, it is expected that Shepherd will attempt to contest the offer and may, with his existing 28% shareholding as a base, mount his own bid for control of the club. Private equity is a broad term that refers to any type of equity investment in an asset in which the equity is not freely tradable on a public stock market. ...

News of the World Exposé

In March 1998, Shepherd and Douglas Hall were the target of a News of the World exposé, led by the “Fake Sheikh” Mazher Mahmood. The pair, believing Mahmood to be a wealthy Arab prince trying to set up a business deal, were caught mocking the club's own supporters for spending extortionate amounts of money on merchandise, calling female supporters “dogs”, and mocking star striker Alan Shearer by calling him the "Mary Poppins of football", all while frequenting a brothel. 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ... The News of the World is a British tabloid newspaper published every Sunday. ... Mazher Mahmood in the 80s Mazher Mahmood is an undercover reporter for the British newspaper News of the World. ... Alan Shearer OBE (born 13 August 1970 in Gosforth, Tyne and Wear) is an English former professional footballer who played for the English national team and three English Premiership clubs: Southampton, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United. ... Mary Poppins is a fictional character and the protagonist of Pamela Travers Mary Poppins books and all of its adaptations. ...

Amidst heavy media coverage, the Newcastle Independent Supporters Association and the then Minister for Sport, Tony Banks, called for the resignation of the pair[5]. Although reports from sources close to Shepherd initially indicated he was contractually unable to resign, he and Hall had both left their posts within two weeks of the scandal breaking. In the United Kingdom government, the Minister for Sport and Tourism is a junior minister in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, with responsibility for sport and tourism in England. ... Anthony Louis Banks, Baron Stratford (8 April 1943 – 8 January 2006), usually known as Tony Banks, was a British politician and Labour Party MP and member of the House of Lords. ...

Only ten months after resigning, Shepherd and Hall, the majority shareholders at Newcastle, voted themselves back on to the board. This led to the immediate resignation of the PLC chairman David Cassidy, who had taken the position just six months earlier. Shepherd has since taken over as PLC chairman. PLC may stand for: Palestinian Legislative Council, law-making body of the Palestinian Authority Parti Libéral du Canada, the term in French for the Liberal Party of Canada Partido Liberal Constitucionalista (or Constitutional Liberal Party), a major political party in Nicaragua Phospholipase C Platoon Leaders Class Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...

Finances

Shepherd owns almost all of his Newcastle shares through Shepherd Offshore, which is run by his brother, Bruce. Unlike the Halls, who have been steadily selling off their shares since floatation in 1997, the Shepherds have increased their holding. They now own 28.01% of the club, up from about 22% in April 2005. Since 1997, the Shepherd's have made ₤8,351,298 from Newcastle United, ₤5,489,239 in share dividends and ₤2,862,059 in salaries. In 2005, Shepherd's annual salary from the club was £552,954[6]. See stock (disambiguation) for other meanings of the term stock A stock, also referred to as a share, is commonly a share of ownership in a corporation. ... PLC may stand for: Palestinian Legislative Council, law-making body of the Palestinian Authority Parti Libéral du Canada, the term in French for the Liberal Party of Canada Partido Liberal Constitucionalista (or Constitutional Liberal Party), a major political party in Nicaragua Phospholipase C Platoon Leaders Class Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...

It should be noted that, despite his undoubted unpopularity, Shepherd's handling of the club's finances[7] has never been subject to any official investigation by the stock market, fraud squad or any other agency. It cannot be said, therefore, that however unpopular his management style and the dividends awarded to himself and Hall may be, that there is anything illegal about the way in which Shepherd runs Newcastle United and benefits from either his official positions or his shareholding in the club.

Sacking of Bobby Robson

In August 2004, Shepherd fired manager Bobby Robson four games in to the new season. In the week before the sacking, Shepherd was quoted as saying that Robson would not be offered a new deal at the end of the season, and that Robson would be “in the Guinness Book of Records” if he were still the manager at 73 years old[8]. It is unclear if Shepherd made his statement after consulting Robson, but Robson admits that he had an agreement with the club that he would retire at the end of the season. Robson also stresses that there was an agreement that he would not be sacked[9]. Afterwards, Shepherd said that sacking Robson was “the hardest thing I have ever done in my life”, but then added “I didn’t want to be known as the man who shot Bambi"[10]. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Suresh Joachim, minutes away from breaking the ironing world record at 55 hours and 5 minutes, at Shoppers World, Brampton. ... This article is about the 1942 Walt Disney film. ...

In his 2005 autobiography Sir Bobby Robson provides detailed criticism of Shepherd's chairmanship, claiming that while manager he was denied information regarding the players' contracts and transfer negotiations. He also criticised Shepherd and Douglas Hall, the club's deputy chairman, for their focus only on the first team and St James' Park, causing them to neglect less glamorous, although equally important, areas such as the training ground, youth development and talent scouts. The club's training ground has been notorious in the past, due to its unkempt state, for causing injuries to first team players.^{[citation needed]} Cover of the first English edition of 1793 of Benjamin Franklins autobiography. ...

Lower Leagues Controversy

Shepherd courted controversy in a speech at the 2004 Dubai Soccerex international football forum, stating that large and successful clubs should not be concerned about those struggling at the lower end of the industry. Shepherd said “When we have got 52,000 fans at each home game, the last thing we are worried about is clubs in the third division," and added, "There is no sympathy here"[11]. Coordinates: Emirate Dubai Government  - Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Area [1]  - Metro 4,114 km² (1,588. ...

Newcastle Supporter Protest

Following the defeat to Sheffield United on 4 November 2006, more than 2,000 fans protested outside St James Park, calling for his resignation[12]. November 4 is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 57 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

Websites such as True Faith and United For Change are leading a supporter campaign against him.

External links

• Interview with Freddy Shepherd
• Detail of Shepherd's Newcastle United shareholdings
• Shepherd's apology to Newcastle women
• Details of Shepeherd, the things he does and says.