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Steve Harmison changes his tune on Mike Ashley and Newcastle United fan protests…

5 years ago
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Steve Harmison is a big lifelong fan of Newcastle United and when speaking to the media, is often/usually asked about what is happening at NUFC, as well as the main stuff about cricket.

The England Ashes hero given an honorary seat for life at St James Park when Hall and Shepherd were in charge.

The former cricketer has been on Talksport this morning and said (see below) that Rio Ferdinand was talking rubbish last weekend when blindly backing up Mike Ashley.

Steve Harmison saying that Newcastle United ‘desperately need to change the owner’ and that Rafa is the only thing that stands between the club and disaster.

A bit of a change from only April 2018 when Harmison declared ‘I’m not a massive Mike Ashley hater. The club is stable under him…”

Steve Harmison also claims: ‘I was on the show at the start of the season and I got pelters for saying ‘lets just get behind the club,  support the club, because Mike Ashley’s not listening.’

Well, if you look below at what he actually said just before the start of the season, Steve Harmison was actually telling the Newcastle fans that they shouldn’t be protesting and just blindly get behind the club, he even ridiculed Newcastle Central MP Chi Onwurah, whose constituency includes St James Park, for trying to exert pressure on Mike Ashley due to the disgraceful way he runs Newcastle United.

Harmison actually now indicates that he thought the fan demonstrations were a good thing pre-Christmas and they were helping to persuade Mike Ashley that he should sell the club. He even states that he is ‘pg sick’ of Ashley and he has to sell this time.

Steve Harmison speaking to Sky Sports today (Friday 18 January 2019):

“I was on the show at the start of the season and I got pelters for saying ‘lets just get behind the club,  support the club, because Mike Ashley’s not listening.’

“I actually thought that, six to eight weeks before Christmas, he (Mike Ashley) actually was listening when the fans did the demonstrations.

“The same happened again and I think that people now, we are just pig sick of it and I think he has got to sell up this time.

“The sooner he does it the better.

“There was a lot made of what Rio Ferdinand said in the week and which I thought was pretty poor to be fair.

“I thought his research was average but the one thing he did say that I agree with, is that we are lucky we’ve got Rafa Benitez.

“I think at this moment of time he’s the only thing that is potentially going to keep Newcastle up.

“The way that he manages that squad,  team, the relationship, what the players think of Rafa, what he will do for them.

“I think that’s what’s going to potentially get us out of relegation but we desperately need to change the owner.

“If not, Rafa will be gone and once Rafa goes, I dread to think not just what could happen to the club, but what the supporters could do, with Ashley still in charge.”

Steve Harmison speaking on Talksport – 26 July 2018:

“I support Newcastle United, I don’t support Rafa Benitez, I don’t support Mike Ashley.

“I support the black and white shirt, St James Park, cos I don’t think that will ever be removed, that iconic stadium, in the middle of town.

“I just can’t believe, I can’t believe some of the stuff.

“We had an MP, a member of parliament, standing up and abusing Mike Ashley, it was quite comical actually. The state this country is in at this minute, your biggest problem cannot be like that. You are trying to get some cheap laughs and some cheap votes from people in the north east.

“But it is Newcastle United, it is about the club, and I understand the frustrations, I really do.

“Mike Ashley, he is what he is, it has been 10 years now. We haven’t spent the money, he hasn’t spent the money, we know what is going (on).

“But Rafa knew that when he came in.

“Newcastle fans have got to get behind Newcastle United football club, the actual shirt, the black and white shirt.

“Because if you go to the first game of the season against Tottenham, we’ve got a hard start, and we start going ‘Mike Ashley…’ , what we normally do, then all of a sudden the pressure comes on, we don’t win a few games, and we lose Rafa. We have not got any assets for somebody to come in and buy the football club.

“If we have got Rafa, if you get him to sign a new contract, and Newcastle then get off to a half-decent start, then the money Mike Ashley wants for the football club, it is more of an attractive proposition.

“But if Rafa…and all this stuff, and I’m as passionate as much as anybody, but to say you are going to boycott and you are going to walk away…

“You look at what happened to Sunderland, and I’m not knocking Sunderland here, but an owner that wasn’t interested, didn’t put the money in, made bad decisions, all of a sudden they find themselves in League One, and it is a long long way back for somebody like Sunderland, which is an absolute crying shame for the area that we’re in.

“You support Newcastle United football club, you don’t support Mike Ashley, you don’t support Lee Charnley or Rafa Benitez, it is the black and white shirt you support.”

Steve Harmison talking to Sky Sports – 23 April 2018:

“I’m not a massive Mike Ashley hater.

“The club is stable under him…”

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