Newcastle United fans are happy to see the back of Mike Ashley.
The British billionaire owned Newcastle United for 14 years. During that period, the club was relegated from the Premier League twice.
There was no hint of a major trophy arriving at St James’ Park, while the Magpies’ only European adventure came after Alan Pardew remarkably finished fifth in the 2011/12 Premier League season.
Newcastle did not capitalise on the back of that, with Vurnon Anita the only first-team arrival. That summed up the lack of ambition from Mike Ashley.
What Mike Ashley told Newcastle United fans in 2015
While all the evidence was to the contrary, Ashley did actually want to win a trophy or get Newcastle United back into the Champions League.
He said as much during an interview with Sky Sports in 2015, admitting that he would not sell the Magpies until one of those goals had been achieved.
“Now [my intention] it is definitely to win something, and by the way, I shall not be selling it until I do,” he said.
“Not at any price [is the club for sale]. And when I say ‘win something’, if we ever get into a position of being in a Champions League place, that also qualifies as winning something.”
Ashley added: “To be categorically clear, I am not going anywhere until we win something.”
Mike Ashley went against his word as he sold Newcastle United six years later
That was ominous for Newcastle United fans at the time.
The comments came on the last day of the 2014/15 season, when the Magpies’ Premier League survival was not guaranteed.
Fortunately, Newcastle avoided relegation thanks to a 2-0 win over West Ham courtesy of goals from Moussa Sissoko and Jonas Gutierrez.
However, the club was relegated 12 months later. Following Ashley’s vow to lift silverware or reach the Champions League, Newcastle actually plumetted into the Championship.
Newcastle were actually getting further away from achieving Ashley’s ambitions, which made his comments about not selling the club even more worrying.
Fortunately for the Toon Army, Ashley went against his word.
He lied to the Newcastle United fans on May 24th 2015. He did sell the club before Newcastle could lift a trophy or return to the Champions League, with PIF, Amanda Staveley and Jamie Reuben completing a £305million takeover in October 2021.
A Newcastle vs Liverpool game inspired Amanda Staveley to buy the club, and now that is the fixture that could see the Magpies end their trophy drought.
It is the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, with Newcastle set to be the underdogs at Wembley. It will be their second cup final in three seasons, with Newcastle United boasting renewed ambition since the change of ownership.
While Ashley claimed he wanted trophies and European football, he never gave the club the foundation to achieve those goals.
PIF have quickly given Newcastle the platform to succeed, and it rapidly resulted in Champions League football. Now it could lead to a trophy too, as Eddie Howe aims to cement his legacy at St James’ Park.
Thank goodness Mike Ashley went against his word and sold the club before he won something. It is a lie that Newcastle United fans will be incredibly grateful for.
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