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Opinion

This 10 year old Mike Ashley image has aged well…

6 years ago
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Almost 10 years ago to the day, Mike Ashley graced issue number 220 of The Mag.

The 22 October 2007 saw that issue timed to come out for Tottenham at home, Newcastle winning 3-1 with goals from Martins, Cacapa and Milner.

After nine games of that Premier League season following the Spurs result, Newcastle had a record of five wins, two draws, and two defeats.

The 17 points total being three more than Newcastle’s current one under Rafa Benitez.

Mike Ashley enjoying the opening couple of months as Newcastle United owner, with Sam Allardyce also enjoying the moment, having been appointed by Freddy Shepherd shortly before the club was sold.

I wonder what happened next…

If you look at the cover below, it has Mike Ashley ‘saying’ “Who am I selling the club to this week?”

Issue 220 – 22 October 2007

Difficult now to imagine but back then (October 2007) it was a major worry for Newcastle supporters that Mike Ashley was going to sell the club!

There were press stories circulating that claimed he had only bought the club to then quickly sell it on at a profit.

Of course, it couldn’t last.

After that issue of The Mag appeared on the shelves of newsagents and on sale at that Tottenham match, it was downhill for Mike Ashley, Sam Allardyce, and the Newcastle fans.

Sam Allardyce then oversaw four defeats in the next five games and indeed only won two more Premier League matches before he was sacked three months later in January 2008.

Whether Mike Ashley will or won’t sell Newcastle United has ended up not such a funny joke in these intervening 10 years.

Hopefully this time with the current speculation, Newcastle fans will be left with a punchline they can enjoy.

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