Newsletter

Get your daily update and weekly newsletter by signing up today!

Opinion

Mike Ashley and the Premier League mid-table myth

3 years ago
Share

This is the story of Mike Ashley and the Premier League mid-table myth.

The owner now depressingly in the 14th season of his Newcastle United reign,

We are lectured by our enemies (journalists, commentators, fans of other clubs) so often…but what is the reality of life under Mike Ashley?

These are the 14 seasons (so far…) under this NUFC owner:

12th – 2007/08 – 43 points

18th – 2008/09 -34 points

21st – 2009/10 – Championship

12th – 2010/11 – 46 points

5th – 2011/12 – 65 points

16th – 2012/13 – 41 points

10th – 2013/14 – 49 points

15th – 2014/15 – 39 points

18th – 2015/16 – 37 points

21st – 2016/17 – Championship

10th – 2017/18 – 44 points

13th – 2018/19 – 45 points

13th – 2019/20 – 44 points

14th – 2020/21 – 8 points from 6 games (will drop to 15th if Man Utd win against Burnley in their game in hand)

Some conclusions from the above 14 Mike Ashley seasons:

If you take all 12 Premier League seasons the average is 13th (13.00)

If you leave out the freak 5th place in 2011/12, the other 11 Premier League seasons give an average of 14th (13.72)

All 14 seasons and including the Championship seasons as 21st (21) the average is 14th (14.14)

If 13 seasons and leave out the freak 5th, the average is 15th (14.84)

None of this tells me mid-table.

When pundits, unreliable media and opposition fans have a go, they will tend to say stuff like…’Look at the daft Geordies, safe in Premier League mid-table every season, how deluded are they, thinking they should be Champions League etc etc.’

Well it simply isn’t true, to me a mid-table club would be one that on average finishes tenth or eleventh, maybe every few seasons ends up seventh, eighth or ninth, then every few seasons ends up twelfth, thirteenth or fourteenth.

Of these 14 seasons under Mike Ashley, in 11 of them we are placed 12th or lower, including two relegations, two seasons in the Championship and a number of other relegation fights.

Boring safe Premier League mid-table it has rarely been.

Only once in 14 seasons under Mike Ashley are Newcastle United placed in the top nine.

It is incredible just how often Newcastle fans get that freak 5th place thrown at them, considering the weight of negative statistics that could and should be quoted in the other direction.

In reality, life under Mike Ashley has not been stress free, it is a tale of stupidity, lack of ambition, ridiculous decisions and cynical / petty moves that devalue the image of Newcastle United.

The football generally poor, entertainment generally low and non-existent at times, a typical season one of fighting relegation and not always successful (relegated in two of Ashley’s eleven full PL seasons so far).

If any fans of another Premier League club would like a free transfer of Mike Ashley into their owner’s seat, be our guest.

Share

If you would like to feature on The Mag, submit your article to contribute@themag.co.uk

Have your say

© 2024 The Mag. All Rights Reserved. Design & Build by Mediaworks