Few men at Newcastle generate more discussion than Mike Ashley, and Rob Lee’s latest verdict on the owner of the club is very telling.
Speaking to TalkSport, Lee said: “He seems to want to upset the Geordies. You think he’s doing alright, then he comes out with that statement at the end of the season a few years ago… ‘We are going to invest money, we are going do this and that, every penny we generate we’ll give back to the manager…’, but he never does it.”
He continued: “You said a little while ago that he will be there [at Newcastle] until the end of the season, but he will be there longer than that…He won’t sell. I don’t think he wants to sell.”
Lee is clearly being very critical of Ashley, but it’s hard to disagree with what he’s had to say. Mike Ashley has had more than enough time to pay back the Newcastle faithful for all of their support, but time and time again he’s failed.
If it was simply a case of him no longer being interested in being the owner anymore and subsequently selling up, that’s fine. Everyone’s been in a situation that they’re not happy with and that they want to get out of. But for Ashley, that’s not the case.
He’s repeatedly failed to sell the club, and it’s got to a stage now in which people, like Lee, are questioning his real intentions. If he hated it so much, he wouldn’t be here anymore, it’s as simple that.
Sure, he can talk about insignificant offers or any other excuses all he wants, but the simple fact of the matter is that if he cared, he’d already be out of the door.
With every passing week, he’s becoming less and less popular with Newcastle fans – and can you blame him?
Rob Lee is just saying what we’re all thinking, and he’s spot on.
Thoughts?