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Newcastle United legend Kevin Keegan believes Mike Ashley's ownership of the Magpies should serve as a warning sign to fans about the direction football is heading.

The former Newcastle player and two-time manager has been heavily critical of Ashley's United tenure, with Keegan having departed the Magpies a decade ago, before winning a constructive dismissal case against the club.

Following almost a decade of near-silence, Keegan has been extremely vocal about Ashley's running of Newcastle over the past few weeks as he promotes his new autobiography.

Magpies supporters are keen to see the back of Ashley following a turbulent 11-and-a-half years of the billionaire being at the St James' Park helm - during which time he has, among a long list of other things, attempted to rename the stadium, fallen out with legends including Keegan and Alan Shearer, employed Dennis Wise and Joe Kinnear (twice), while the club has suffered two relegations, too.

In Keegan's opinion, one of the serious problems facing modern-day football fans is that their clubs are no longer owned by wealthy supporters - such as Newcastle was under Sir John Hall during the 1990s.

Instead, billionaires and business people are buying up football clubs and turning them into 'brands', something which is creating a disconnect with supporters in some cases.

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"I think if you ask Alan Shearer, if you ask a lot of the old players, it's just as if Mike Ashley is upsetting Newcastle fans [by making stupid decisions]," Keegan told BBC Radio 5Live's Football Daily podcast.

"Say if Mike Ashley said to me: 'I really want to upset the Newcastle United fans. What should I do Kevin?' I'd say: 'Change the name of St James' Park to the Sports Direct Arena, that'll really upset them.'

"I think it's a real lesson for football. It's the way football's going. Clubs are not owned by the local butcher anymore like Scunthorpe was. It's not owned by Sir John Hall, who made his money in the Metro Centre around the corner, or in his housing estate down in Wynyard.

(Image: PR)

"It's now people coming from afar, who don't always really get what the football club is. They're buying a 'brand', and I hate hearing football clubs described as a 'brand'. If there's one thing they're not, it's a 'brand'. Football clubs are about supporters.

"So it's tough for Newcastle supporters at the moment. But other clubs are going through the same things, it's not just Newcastle where it's not working.

"And, to be fair, there are clubs where it's working perfectly well. You shouldn't knock the idea, just choose carefully who you sell your club to."

One revelation in Keegan's book is that he has only been back to St James' Park once since resigning as manager for a second time - and he did so in disguise.

The reason Keegan returned in costume was because he feels unwelcome and even claims he believes he is unofficially 'banned' under Ashley's orders.

However, the 67-year-old admits he would like to be able to take in live matches on Tyneside once again, even if he would never be a regular given that he now resides in the North West.

"I went back in disguise," Keegan replied when asked if he would like to return to St James' Park to watch Newcastle games again.

"Geographically for me, I wouldn't ever be going regularly, but it would be nice to go back to watch some games.