Mike Ashley's Rangers escape may actually benefit Newcastle

Article by Paul Nicholson

Follow e-Newcastle on Twitter!

For a man who allegedly shuns the limelight, and pursues an apparent reclusive lifestyle, Mike Ashley’s name has rarely been out of the public domain over the last few months. His name is all over the internet and written media, whether it is independent fans’ websites, usually accompanied by angry, disillusioned comments from disgruntled Newcastle fans, or wary, sceptical Rangers fans, armed with a 50 foot long barge-pole that they do not want to touch him with; The sports section of the newspapers (at least the ones that haven’t been banned from St James’ Park yet anyway), debating his ‘long-term plan’ for Newcastle United, or his mis-handling of (virtually any) footballing issues within the club; or the business pages of newspapers and financial publications in both Scotland and England intrigued by his ‘will-he-or-won’t-he’ sale of the Tyneside Club, and purchase of Rangers. Not bad for someone who wants to fly under the radar.

Whilst most Rangers fans are dubious, to say the least, about Ashley’s intentions for their club, and Newcastle fans’ clamour to see the back of him, there is a bigger picture here, and I, for one, can see where a move from England to Scotland for the Sports Direct Tycoon could benefit both clubs.

Newcastle’s supporters are fed up with both Mike Ashley and manager Alan Pardew. Ashley with his apparent willingness to allow the club to stagnate in mid-table mediocrity, without dipping into his billions to push the club forward to the next level. Pardew with his constant diatribe, excuses (he has even blamed the fans in the ground for Newcastle conceding a late equaliser to Crystal Palace this season) and most damning of all, his apparent lack of tactical nous. However, ask most Newcastle fans (and I am one), and they’ll tell you, the two of them seem to go hand in hand. Pardew is basically an official spokesperson for the club, and seems happy to put himself in the firing line and ‘take a bullet’ for Ashley. The consensus from the fans? To get rid of one, you might have to get rid of both.

Looking at things from this perspective, it seems that selling Newcastle to some wealthy American conglomerate, a Far-Eastern syndicate, or a Man City-esque Arabian Royal Family would benefit all parties, if there is one willing to invest. The opportunity for Ashley to recoup his investment, and give Newcastle the platform to, hopefully, kick on from.

The one thing that the Ashley era on the banks of the Tyne HAS done, is stabilise the club’s finances, taking them from a club with spiralling debts to a club who now regularly post black figures on their accounts sheets, and are seemingly becoming more self-sufficient every year. In fact, if you look at the finances of all 20 Premier League clubs in relation to the UEFA FFP rules, then Newcastle will definitely be close to the top of that table.

This is exactly the type of stability and forward-planning that Rangers need. Yes Ashley may be somewhat of an unknown quantity in relation to what his long-term footballing goal is, but there is no doubt what his financial ambitions are: TO MAKE MONEY. He would put his clout behind the club as far as improving turnover, and he will see the benefits of getting The Gers back into the lucrative Champions League mix again, even if it is with more of an eye on promoting Sports Direct in Europe than winning the coveted trophy…but Rangers fans should worry about that at a future date, when the more pressing worries of having a football club to support are a mere distant memory.

I understand their fans’ anger at his purchase of the naming rights of Ibrox for £1…but that is still £1 more than he paid for them St James’ Park!

The point I am trying to make is that these are two famous clubs at two VERY different cross-roads. If you look at the all of the pros and cons, maybe both sets of fans can get what they need from a deal.

© e-Football 2014 All rights reserved no part of this document or this website may be reproduced without consent of e-Football