For supporters of Newcastle United, the great, underperforming north-east football institution, the indignities of ownership under Mike Ashley have ground up the gears again. Ashley, boss of cut-price retailer Sports Direct, broke months of silence following his decision in October to advertise the club for sale by this week authorising a statement denying there is any “deal on the table” from the businesswoman Amanda Staveley or that there are any current discussions with her.
Staveley, who has adopted a very public interest in buying the club, maintains that she has an offer “on the table” of £250m, £100m short of the minimum Ashley wants. It is not clear why Ashley would be expected to accept less even than the £263m he has spent on Newcastle, which he has made financially stable, in a vastly more lucrative Premier League than when he took over in 2007.
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