Newcastle United-a team, a group of fans, a club that is never far from controversy or talking points. At the moment that talking point is Mike Ashley, the club’s owner. He is becoming something of a hate figure on tyneside, perhaps even a scapegoat for everything that happens at the club be it team performances, results or players leaving the club. Is it really all down to him?

Mike Ashley bought the northeast club in the summer of 2007 and initially proved to be popular with the Geordie faithful. He used his own money to pay off all of the club’s debt and appeared to be one of the fans, turning up to games in his Newcastle shirt and drinking pints with fellow supporters. He even brought back Kevin Keegan as manager in January 2008 which meant his popularity soared. However, this proved to be short lived. In September 2008 Keegan resigned as manager claiming he did not have full control of the team. Players such as Xisco and Nacho Gonzalez were bought over his head by Dennis Wise and he fell out with the board. This was the start of the rot for Ashley.

Following widespread demonstrations at the Hull game which saw a half empty stadium and a 2-1 defeat for The Toon, the club was put up for sale with Ashley saying it was no longer safe for him to attend matches. This proved to be unsuccessful and Joe Kinnear was installed as manager, a man who had been out of the game for nearly 20 years, which proved to be another unpopular choice. Unfortunately the club struggled that season and was ultimately relegated to the Championship, disaster in the eyes of the fans. Later in 2009, in order to pay off some club debt Mike Ashley decided he wanted to sell the naming rights to the stadium which again caused uproar with the fans. In the end the stadium was renamed sportsdirect.com@St James’ Park, more of an email address than a name for a football stadium, after Ashley’s other business Sports Direct. Other unpopular decisions were when he sacked Chris Hughton and installing Alan Pardew as manager, making Joe Kinnear director of football and most recently selling Yohan Cabaye without buying a replacement. It is easy to see why he has become an unpopular figure with the Newcastle fans so what next for the northeast club. At the moment it seems that Ashley will remain owner for the foreseeable future.

Newcastle fans are often labelled as being too demanding, but I think although this was once the case they are now more realistic. Most no longer believe they should be challenging for the league title, or even the Champions League, but there is one thing they want more than anything. To win some silverware, something which has eluded them since 1955. Although in recent times this has seemed nothing more than a dream. Since Mike Ashley bought the club, Newcastle has never got past the fourth round of the FA cup. A coincidence, I think not? To me it is clear the only interest Ashley holds in Newcastle United is to make money in order to fund his other business ventures. This may seem a bold statement but I will take the time to explain why I think this.

Investment has never been a word in Mike Ashley’s dictionary. He has sold Yohan Cabaye, Demba Ba and Andy Carroll for a total of nearly £65 million without bringing in a replacement for any of them. In the past too summer transfer windows the only permanent first team signing that has been made was Vurnon Anita for a total of £6 million, and he isn’t even a starter. In January 2013 he did splash the cash a bit, but only so the club wouldn’t drop out the league again. He has stated that a top 10 finish in the league is his priority over any cup run, only because that is where the money lies. If he managed the assets that Newcastle have however he could afford to make investment without shelling out too much of his own money. St James’ Park has the potential to make shed loads of cash. Just look at Arsenal and The Emirates, they went through the process of paying off the money spent on the build whilst staying at the top of league without spending too much money and they are now reaping the rewards and enable to spend over £40 million to buy one player. The only advertising around St James’ Park is for Sports Direct, Ashley’s own company, meaning it is free and no money is coming in. It’s not as if Ashley doesn’t have the cash either, he is always buying shares in other companies for large amounts of money, often selling them not soon after to make a quick buck.

Unfortunately with the mindset that Mike Ashley has, I think the only thing Newcastle fans can look forward to is finishing in the top 10 of the Premier League, they won’t win a trophy with him still as owner of the club. He started out on the right foot by paying off debt and stabilising the club, which he should take credit for, but has since somewhat lost control and alienated the fans. For me, the summer of 2012 was the turning point. After finishing in 5th the season before and qualifying for the Europa League Newcastle had the chance of launching themselves as a contender once again and reach heights they had not seen since the early 2000’s. But once again Ashley shied away from investment leading the club into a downward spiral once again.