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Mike Ashley Out campaign swings back into action after 18 months

6 years ago
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The Mike Ashley Out campaign has been under the radar for the past 18 months or so.

The appointment of Rafa Benitez leading disgruntled fans not to suddenly believe in the owner of Newcastle United – buy rather to concentrate on giving the Spaniard full support after he made the brave/and decision to come and try to rescue us and put the club where (we all believe) it belongs.

The January 2017 transfer window saw Rafa misled by Mike Ashley, with not a single signing made, the manager furious at the end of that window.

Summer 2017 was the same, the United boss having to go for bargain signings to supplement his squad as Mike Ashley failed to back him or keep ‘promises’, both Huddersfield and Brighton having far higher net spends than Newcastle.

January 2018 and 17 days into the window, not a single signing made as yet.

On top of that, Tuesday night saw Mike Ashley spit his dummy out and put out yet another PR message through his friends at Sky Sports, claiming Amanda Staveley and her group had proved a ‘complete waste of time’ in terms of talks to buy the club, the Ms Staveley camp responding then also through the media, insisting a written offer had been made but not accepted by Ashley.

Events that has led to the AshleyOut.com campaign springing back into action with the following statement.

Statement on Mike Ashley Out site – Wednesday 17 January 2018:

‘It’s been over a decade since Mike Ashley became the owner of Newcastle United with much fanfare and promise.

Since then our club has been the subject of an organised tumble into mediocrity for the benefit of one person, and one person only, Michael James Wallace Ashley.

There have been embarrassing appointments at director and managerial level, our club and ground have been associated with tacky brands, club legends have been humiliated, club debt has risen, matchday and commercial revenue have dropped significantly and our league and cup records have deteriorated. From regular European qualification and forays into the latter stages of cup competitions, to being under perennial threat of relegation and cup exits at the first hurdle to prioritise league survival.

Today the club is an empty shell, a shadow of its grand former self. There is no ambition beyond staying in, or getting back to, the Premier League to pick up “our” share of the enormous TV revenues the league generates. We are lucky enough to currently have a world class manager in Rafa Benitez, who came here because he sees the incredible potential in the club, but who will almost certainly not stick around for much longer if the club’s ownership situation remains as it is. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to return the club to its former glory, one this club under Mike Ashley probably didn’t deserve, but one that feels like it’s already on the brink of collapse.

In the early parts of his reign Mike Ashley very publicly “put the club up for sale” twice, but in the end he got away with public posturing and asking for patience whilst the “takeover process” ran its course.

In the autumn of 2017 the club was officially put up for sale a third time as “all that can be done has been done”. Like on the two previous occasions at least one very credible prospective buyer presented themselves to test Mike Ashley’s “desire to see the club go forward, advance, flourish, so an appropriate person would have resources, time, a management structure, a plan for the club that was deemed to be appropriate and suitable”. Like (at least) twice before however, Mike Ashley pulled the plug on negotiations, calling them “exhausting, frustrating and a complete waste of time”. The reality was and sadly remains that he was never actually inclined to sell up, not for a reasonable and fair valuation at least.

We urge Mike Ashley to sell Newcastle United to a new owner who has the means and the ambition to fulfill the club’s undoubted potential, as soon as possible and as a matter of urgency, not in an attempt to maximise his profit in doing so but to ensure the club is finally run by someone who has “the best interests of Newcastle United at heart and had both the commitment and finance to be worthy custodians of such a fine football club”. Do what’s best for Newcastle United for once, not what’s best for Mike Ashley. We will not lie down until the objective to see him removed as owner of our beloved club has been achieved.

We call upon all Newcastle United fans to support our campaign aimed at ending Mike Ashley’s tenure, now more than ever. We are all being continuously lied to and deceived in a cold and calculated fashion by Ashley and his people. Their aim of keeping our fanbase pacified and sitting in their seats for the TV cameras cannot be allowed to succeed. This website documents Mike Ashley’s many ploys, lies and failures, and alongside our social media presence, will be the background of organised protests at Newcastle United games and away from them.’

Visit the AshleyOut.com site for further info and how to help.

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