• Eight supporters’ group write letter to club owner • ‘To fail to do so, would seem both reckless and foolish’

A fans collective comprising of eight separate Newcastle United supporters groups and fanzines have joined forces to write an open letter to the club’s owner, Mike Ashley, urging him to either sell up or provide Rafael Benítez with the transfer market funds needed to ensure Premier League survival.

The 757-word missive implores Ashley “to do what is right this month”. In an ideal world that would involve the sports retail tycoon offloading the club to a “suitable” purchaser willing to meet his £300m asking price but with takeover talks with assorted, opaque, groups seemingly at an impasse, the letter’s authors ask him to relax the purse strings.

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“If you cannot find a suitable buyer, then it is imperative you release the funds needed to improve the squad,” the letter stated. “To fail to do so, would seem both reckless and foolish given the damage you know relegation will do.

“As things stand, Newcastle are just two points above the relegation zone and the manager has pleaded for new signings in order to ensure the club avoids a third relegation in the 12 years you will have been on Tyneside.

“Our net spend in the last three transfer windows is the lowest in the Premier League … there have been three chunks of television income paid in that time totalling more than £150m.”

This lack of investment, and reinvestment of broadcast revenues, currently seems set to see Benítez step down as manager in May when his current contract expires. The former Liverpool coach has fallen in love with the club and the city but remains deeply frustrated that he was not allowed to properly restock his squad last summer. Instead Newcastle ended that last transfer window having recorded a £20m trading profit.

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“Given the sale of Aleksandar Mitrovic to Fulham (for £22m) last summer, there must be money available to spend on players unless it is being taken out of the club by yourself to repay some of the interest free loans you have provided since 2007?” the letter continued.

According to Newcastle’s last set of available accounts published in summer 2017 Ashley has provided the club with a total of £144m in interest free loans since buying it in for £134m in 2007. It is understood that, during the last 18 months, he has recouped at least £10m worth of these arrangements.

“If you refuse to spend money this month, the risk of relegation not only increases, it will also mean the manager will not sign the new contract you have offered him. You have repeatedly said you want Benítez to stay, so do the things needed to make sure that happens. In short, back him and give him what he needs. We firmly believe keeping Benítez is the best chance this football club has. So please listen to him and please allow him to sign the players he has requested to improve the team. It is in your own interest to do so.”

Early last month, Ashley made an extremely rare television appearance to declare that he was closer than he had ever been to selling Newcastle. Fans’ groups immediately cancelled planned protests against his stewardship but some now fear they were duped.

“A protest in order to show our concern was called off in the best interests of the team and manager while you got on with the task of selling the club,” said the letter. “We hope it [the sale] happens, but if it doesn’t, we can only ask you to do what’s right for the supporters. The fans want Benítez to stay and we want to stay in the Premier League. You have the power to make that happen.

“I know we have had a difficult relationship in the past but we want to look forward, not backwards. Please do what is right this month. Best wishes, Newcastle United Supporters Trust (NUST), True Faith fanzine, The Mag fanzine, The Magpie Group, Newcastle Fan TV, IfRafaGoesWeGo, London Magpie Group, Newcastle Legends.”