It is near impossible to put a number or figure on these kind of things, but if there is any organisation in football that has more trouble behind the scenes than FIFA, Newcastle United would be one of the first places you would look.

It must be said for a club whose’s most successful period was arguable over 100 years ago, it is clear Mike Ashley is not the only problem in Tyneside.

It is also important to point out that Ashley has put Newcastle in a place where they are financially secure. That doesn’t sound like a lot, unless you are a Portsmouth fan.  Beyond this the habits of one of Britain’s most successful business men has being one of great frustration and anger for the loyal Newcastle fans.

Managers, namings, relegations

From manager sackings, to naming rights and relegation to the championship the Toon Army have not had an easy ride since May 2007. Eight long hard years in the wilderness.

It is easier to reflect on matters such as this when we do not have the weekly madness of what is the now just called the Premier League.

Secondly, Mike Ashley's ownership of the club is under scrutiny after reports on the 7th of June that Mike Ashley is set to resign from the Newcastle United board. This is just the latest twist in the soap opera that is Newcastle United Football Club. If true it is not clear what effect it would have as surprisingly Ashley only became a member of the board in April 2014. A mere 16 months.

As already stated Ashley bought the club eight years ago. Like his growing influence at Rangers, Ashley’s control of Newcastle came in gradual stages rather than instant control. Much of this was due to British law.

How did Ashley buy Newcastle?

On 23 May 2007, Ashley bought Sir John Hall's 41.6% stake in Newcastle United at one pound per share, for a total cost of £55,342,223. With such a high percentage stake Ashley was entitled to buy the club outright, an option he took up when  he paid a total of around £134 million to buy the club.

On the 14th of September 2008, Ashley made a statement to announce he had put the club up for sale. This came in response to the resignation of one the clubs most iconic figures Kevin Keegan. Ashley stated "I have listened to you. You want me out. That is what I am now trying to do”. Ashley was true to his word and tried to sell the club during a business trip in Asia.

When unsuccessful, he decided against the sale. Newcastle fans wanted their owner out in 2008 but seven years later he is still standing, and in the same position.

The man who has often being accused of having a lack of respect for the club was also in the headlines when he gave his first interview as Newcastle owner.

The distance between fans and owner is so large they might as well be on other planets physically. It is most certainly the case in the contrasting ways each group feels the club needs to be run. In a rare interview given to Sky Sports, Ashley said many things that one could not help but find bewildering. The first thing was "I will continue the policy of investing in the football club. We’ve got the club on a very sound financial footing. So we are able to spend, and punch above our weight."

The club have  a stadium that holds over 52,000 fans, third just behind Manchester United and Arsenal. With that alone there is no excuse for having clubs such as Swansea, Stoke and West Brom all finishing comfortable above the team wearing that famous black and white stripe.

If avoiding relegation or even finishing 10th is punching above the clubs weight, there is little wonder there is such a toxic ridge between the board and fans.

Secondly when asked was he surprised Newcastle found themselves in a relegation fight he said “I didn’t anticipate we would be anywhere near this situation. After the last couple of weeks I’m still a little bit shocked about where we find ourselves today,"

How could this be the cause when the club is run in the same way it was when it was last relegated, former manager of the year Alan Pardew was allowed leave the club and finally since he bought the club they have actually made a £24.1 million profit on transfers.

The gradual divide of owner and fan is a running theme  at Newcastle. The rich get richer while the poor get poorer. Ashley continues to use the club as his own personal cash cow while the fans watch the identity of their club get ripped away piece by piece, brick by brick.

The one positive from the interview  for Newcastle fans  was that Ashley did take responsibility for the clubs misfortunes. When asked where the responsibility for their slump down the table lied he said: "At my door" with little wonder.

A team lacking identity

Newcastle United football club lacks an identity, with a constant revolving door or managers, coaches and players alike. Steve McClaren will be the eight different man to dare sit on that red hot managers seat. Managers and players alike are treated with a severe lack of respect. It was only recently that outgoing caretaker manager had to personally ring to tell both Ryan Taylor and Jonas Gutierrez that their contracts would not be renewed despite many years of loyalty to a club and many managers.

This poor treatment is also extended to the managers of the club. Chris Hughton was sacked despite getting the club back to the Premier League at the first attempt with games to spare after relegation to the championship. The side was after a disappointing few results, but was still doing exceptionally well for a side that had just got promoted.

Alan Pardew went on to replace the harshly treated Irish man and it is hard to argue the now Crystal Palace manager was treated entirely fairly either. It was Alan Pardew that was forced out of Newcastle due to fan pressure. Pardew was seen as Ashley’s man and for that reason he had to go or at least that’s what many Newcastle fans would tell you. An opinion many find bewildering is, if Pardew and Ashley were that close would the English businessman have left Pardew take so much heat from the fans while he hid in the shadows avoiding the public eye?

Ashley saw a man who he knew would go along with his transfer policy with little complaint and keep the club in the premier league. Ashley has done little to suggest anything more is the objective for one of England’s footballing giants. A club that draws bigger crowds than Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City and even this year’s European cup finalist Juventus. The club on paper could and should be challenging for the top three and not trying to avoid the bottom three. One major reason this is not happening is due t the sale of some of the clubs most important players.

If you look through the last few seasons Pardew’s team was ripped apart. Every team ideally has a strong domestic base to build the rest of the team around. Pardew had this at first but piece by piece it was torn apart. He saw players such as Kevin Nolan, Andy Carroll and Joey Barton  leave the club to be replaced by players who did not know the league. 

With the signings of Yohan Cabaye and and Senegalese striker Demba Ba, this strategy worked at first as Newcastle finished 5th. Like their English counterparts the new hero’s on Tyneside were quickly sold at the first sight of a decent offer. This strategy was only going to last so long before it imploded in the club’s face the way it did this season. Even if a club spends  the money they receive, if they constantly sell your best players they will never improve. Just ask Tottenham and Liverpool fans.

The club got striped of a manager who led them their highest league position since the Bobby Robson days. They lost many of their key players. Worst of all they lost their naming rights and with the club lost its soul.

For many fans it was the final straw. It was a near unique event. Yes clubs such as Arsenal and Bolton have names called after sponsors. But those stadiums were new stadiums when given those names. No history or tradition was destroyed. In the case of Arsenal, the money that Emirates gave them went a long way to paying for the ground.

If the name change had put Newcastle in a position where they could compete for players the way for example Manchester City do maybe it would have being different. The money being reported was £10 million a season. Hardly worth destroying 119 years of tradition?

Newcastle may not be out of the woods yet. Both Derek Llambias and Mike Ashley are reported saying “Naming the stadium the Sports Direct Arena helps up to showcase the opportunity to interested parties. We are now actively seeking a long-term sponsor wishing to acquire full naming rights for the stadium.” 

The future as a whole look bleak for Newcastle and newly appointed manager Steve McClaren. An owner that does the bare minimum to protect his asset. Will last season’s scare spark the club into life into the transfer window and more. Only time will tell. 

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About the author
Diarmuid Gillingham
Hi my name is Diarmuid Gillingham. I am an journalist, currently a part of The United Stand Youtube football channel