Look what they've done to our club! Ashley and Kinnear taken to task by trio of former Toon greats

Newcastle United legends have slammed club owner Mike Ashley and his sidekick Joe Kinnear for the way the club is being run into the ground.

Fans turned out in droves for Steve Harper’s testimonial on Wednesday — the sell-out 50,793 crowd at St James’ Park was their highest this season.

There were 4,000 more than at their previous home game against Fulham, which said as much about their love of former goalkeeper Harper as it did their hatred for Ashley and Kinnear.

Tough time: Players from the current squad, including Yohan Cabaye clap the fans

All together: Newcastle players Fabricio Coloccini, Yoan Gouffran, Yohan Cabaye and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa celebrate after the win over Fulham

Gone are the days of competing for the Premier League title and glorious Champions League nights; of record transfer fees and regular England internationals turning out every weekend in front of an adoring Geordie faithful.

After they had pulled on the black-and-white strip once again this week to play for a Newcastle Legends side, former greats Alan Shearer, Rob Lee and Andy Cole, stars of that golden spell in the 1990s, spoke out about the current plight of the club.

They fear no-one wants to play for Newcastle any more, claim the club are going backwards and believe Ashley should step aside.

ALAN SHEARER

Geordie Legend 1996-2006

The Premier League’s all-time top goalscorer joined Newcastle in July 1996 for a world record £15m and spent the rest of his career at St James’ Park. He scored 206 goals in 404 games and until recently had a bar at the ground named after him. Even his time as manager, when Newcastle were relegated in 2009, did nothing to tarnish his legendary status among fans. ANDREW COLE

Geordie Legend 1993-1995

Though only at the club for a relatively brief period, Cole made his mark. He joined from Bristol City in February 1993 and immediately helped Newcastle win promotion to the Premier League. In his next season he scored an incredible 41 goals in all competitions — which remains a club record for most goals in a season — before joining Manchester United.





Lee said: ‘Kevin Keegan sold this club to me when I joined. If Joe Kinnear was speaking to you, are you going to join this football club? I’m not so sure. Players don’t want to join Newcastle any more.



‘It’s not going to be a short-term fix. It’s not a case of the club only needing a couple of players and then they’ll be very good. It’s more long-term than that. There aren’t the kids coming through the academy any more. Since I left we’ve had Steven Taylor, Andy Carroll and Shola Ameobi.’

The club broke the bank and the world-record transfer fee when they signed Shearer for £15million from Blackburn Rovers in 1996. Does he think those days are over? ‘I would say so and so would the 52,000 fans as well and a lot more,’ the former England striker said.

Breaking the bank: Kevin Keegan and Newcastle paid £15m for Alan Shearer in 1996

They played such good attacking football under Keegan they were labelled ‘The Entertainers’. In successive seasons from 1995 to 1997 they finished runners-up in the Premier League. Had they not thrown away a 12-point lead over Manchester United in 1996, they would have won the title.



This season it took them until the 86th minute of their third league game to score a Premier League goal.

ROB LEE

Geordie legend 1992-2002

Joined Newcastle in 1992 from Charlton and spent the next 10 years playing in the North East. In that time he helped Newcastle win promotion to the Premier League and was also a key member of Kevin Keegan’s side who challenged for the title. During his time at the club, Lee played more than 380 games.

Why did more people turn up to watch an exhibition match than a top-flight game? ‘It’s probably a break from the monotony of watching the team play,’ Lee said. ‘Against West Ham it was 0-0 . . . I couldn’t remember playing in a 0-0.’

Shearer added: ‘That 1996 team which just missed out on the title may be the best any Newcastle fan sees in his lifetime. But that is why they turned out on Wednesday night because that’s an era they loved and enjoyed. They enjoyed being entertained and that is just what that team did. It could be a long time before that happens again.’



Since Ashley bought the club in May 2007 they have had six managers, one executive director of football, two directors of football, an attempted name change of St James’ Park and a new sponsorship deal with payday lenders Wonga. They have been relegated to the Championship and finished in the top 10 only once.

‘They seem to get themselves on the right track and all of a sudden someone here derails them,’ said Cole. ‘The punters were fairly happy a couple of years ago, the team were moving in the right direction and then decisions are made at the top which throw a spanner in the works.

‘It’s almost as if somebody running the club wants to upset the punters and I find that very strange. If you keep the punters on board here, it’s half the battle. If you upset them, they’re going to eventually vote with their feet because there is only so much they can take.’



Should Ashley leave? ‘In an ideal world, he should,’ Lee said. ‘But it isn’t an ideal world.’



Ashley and Kinnear have done themselves no favours by their dismal performance in the transfer window. When he was appointed director of football in June, Kinnear boasted about his endless list of contacts, about having Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger on speed dial and that he was going to be the best director of football the world had seen.



Face in the crowd: Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has been criticised by a number of ex-players

New role: Joe Kinnear was appointed as director of football, but Rob Lee is not convinced he can attract the big names to St James' Park

When the transfer window shut they had signed a player on loan who turned them down in January — striker Loic Remy — and a little- known teenager on a free.

Yesterday manager Alan Pardew, speaking at a press conference about the lack of transfer activity, said: ‘I hope it doesn’t affect us. When the fans see how we play over the next eight games, if we keep everybody fit, I think they will feel a lot better than they did on deadline day.



Tough window: Alan Pardew was only able to add Loic Remy on loan during the summer window

Loan star: Remy joined from QPR for the season

‘Over the past 10 or so years since I’ve become a manager, I’ve said the first 10 games really and truly give you a clear indication about where you are at.’

