Mike Ashley DOES deserve credit for his ten-year tenure at Newcastle
Toon owner has been under-fire from fans who want him to sell the club but there has been some positives from his time at the club
MIKE ASHLEY does deserve some credit for his time as Newcastle United owner.
There, I said it!
Cast back to 2007; the club was being ran financially into the ground by Shepherd and Hall.
No one could doubt the passion and ambition of the owners at the time, but money was being taken out left, right and centre, and Newcastle’s place amongst the elite was diminishing by the day.
Mike Ashley stepped in at a time where administration for the biggest club in the north east was a real possibility and he used his own money to stabilise the club, all free of interest.
He also managed to attract and maintain the services of one of the best managers in world football today.
For both of these events, Mike Ashley deserves credit.
But if we’re talking about the bread either side of Ashley’s 10-year NUFC sandwich, the filling has been nothing short of a selfish, naïve mess!
Embarrassing, short-sighted appointments, penny-pinching transfer blueprints, 8 year contracts, self-advertising and changing stadium names are just a few of the ridiculous decisions made by a man who has himself admitted he didn’t know enough about what he was getting himself in for when taking over a football club and that he even regrets the decision to do so.
Ashley has transformed Newcastle United into the most economically proficient club in the Premier League.