Newcastle United owner, Mike Ashley, has put the club up for sale and is reportedly willing to accept a cut price £80 million for the club. Newcastle were recently relegated to the Championship and a lot of people have blamed Ashley all along for the many mistakes that have turned Newcastle into the laughing stock of football.

Ashley put the club up for sale earlier in the season but obviously a buyer wasn’t found, as nobody would have been willing to invest in a ship that was clearly already sinking. He should find his job a little easier this time round as, for such a relatively low figure in comparison to the price of other clubs, a potential investor will be pumping something into the biggest club outside the Premier League.

Only on rare occasions has Ashley made good and right decisions such as putting the club up for sale originally and bringing in Alan Shearer as manager towards the end of last season. Many fans will welcome this news when they read it today and will be hoping that it is the first step of a rapid revival for a football club that shouldn’t be any where near the position it currently is.

Speaking in the Sunday media, Ashley said: “It’s been catastrophic for everybody. I’ve lost my money and made terrible decisions. Now I want to sell as soon as I can. I am genuinely sorry to everybody for what has happened.”

The problem with Ashley selling up the club so quickly is that it strengthens the risks of how Newcastle will cope financially with the drop. Ashley was responsible for over £100 million in funding during his time in charge and with the downgrading of contracts as well as other issues, his immediate departure could jeopardise the immediate future of the club.

However, he deserves a little credit for recognising that his staying would probably bring with it further resentment and anger from the fans. This would come at a time when Newcastle needs the support from every corner of its fan base. Everyone outside the club needs to pull together and get through the current crisis because a lot of the playing staff are going to leave this summer.

Some may choose to stay in the hope that a new owner will bring with it many benefits but most probably wouldn’t even give this a second thought. The fact that the future of the club is now up in the air may be the deciding factor which prompts a lot of players to pick up the phone and start ringing the agents to get them out of the mess.

It is obvious that Ashley has lost all of his passion for the club and just wants out. The club right now is a mess and will need a lot of restructuring over the coming months. He has made it quite obvious that he wants no part in the proceedings and finally people that have all along seen him as a threat to the club’s security will be glad to see the back of him.

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