You’re finished with us, fans tell Ashley
Sep 6 2008 by Paul James, The Journal
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NEWCASTLE fans last night warned owner Mike Ashley he could never again join them at a football match.
A boycott of next Saturday’s home match against Hull City now seems unlikely but fans are being encouraged to turn up and let the board know just how unwelcome they are at St James’s Park.
The club remained silent yesterday on any developments, but Ashley will receive an open letter in the coming days from fanzine True Faith, which says it has considerable doubts that he is a suitable owner and questions strongly his financial commitment to the club.
Most fans’ groups yesterday said they were going to the Hull match, but it was unclear yesterday whether Ashley would be in his seat to hear their anger over Kevin Keegan’s resignation.
The nufc.com website was urging readers not to take the more extreme courses of action being considered, saying any good feeling engendered by Ashley mixing with the fans had long gone.
Other gestures of protest being considered are a boycott of club merchandise, of refreshments in the ground and of Ashley’s Sports Direct shops.
The vast majority of fans yesterday said there was now no way back for Ashley, Dennis Wise and the other directors seen to have undermined Keegan.
Frank Gilmour, of the Newcastle United Independent Supporters Association, said: “I’ll be there next Saturday but I won’t be buying anything.
“People will go and protest against Ashley. I doubt he will be there, I doubt that man will be at St James’s Park again, and if he is seen again he is going to face an almighty backlash.”
Mark Jensen, editor of The Mag fanzine, said that rather than a boycott of the Hull game, he was in favour of fans turning up, supporting the team and venting their anger at Ashley and Wise.
He said: “People have a right to think twice before they buy any kind of merchandise, or anything else, from the club. I don’t think it’s a case of financially starving Mike Ashley out, but making it clear in every way that people are disgusted that the club is a laughing stock again.”
Steve Wraith, former fans liaison officer at St James’s Park and editor of the Players Inc. fanzine, added: “I’m not going to tell him not to come to the ground because it isn’t going to be safe. That’s up to the police and Mike Ashley.
“Our fans will give him a rough time, I’m sure, but vocally. We would back a peaceful protest. There’s nothing worse for an away team than an angry crowd – I’m sure Mike Ashley and the directors will suffer the same.
“What Mike Ashley should be doing is first of all sorting out the poor PA system he’s got, donning a suit and shirt and tie like he should have in the first place, getting everybody in at 2.30pm and going into the centre circle and explaining what is going on. It’s the only way he’ll come out of this with any credibility.”
The True Faith website said it had received an absolute mountain of correspondence since Keegan was sacked.
Editor Michael Martin wrote he was under no illusions that the letter of no confidence would make any difference to Ashley, managing director Derek Llambias or Wise.
But he said: “Frankly, there’s a mood abroad for action. Action that will hurt Ashley where he will feel it most – on the bottom line. The difficulty is we know we might have to hurt the thing we love to get at Ashley and his people.
“Many in the the bunker are up for being part of an organised struggle to hit Ashley where he will feel it but we have no mandate to lead and we’ll need the support of others to help us.”
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