Mike Ashley turned up to watch his first Newcastle game in over a year and Match of the Day host Gary Lineker joked that the unpopular owner “wished he hadn’t”.
The match ended 0-0 in a game where Crystal Palace dominated and should have secured all three points.
Mamadou Sakho was the culprit for Palace, putting a header wide when he had an open goal in front of him.
Talking on Match of the Day (BBC1, Sat, 10.30pm), Lineker said: “Mike Ashley watched his first game in 18 months I think, but I bet he wished he hadn’t.”
OPINION
Ashley should be forced to watch games like this on loop until he puts his hands in his pockets and gives Rafa Benitez some money to spend. Going to a team like Palace to defend is 100% down to the lack of funds Benitez has had to invest in the team, and he cut a sorry figure afterwards in the MotD interview. For Newcastle fans the match was yet another indication that this season is going to be a very tough one. Their side currently has two points after six games, with just four goals scored, and are third from bottom in the Premier League. Will Ashley make any money available to his manager in January after watching this game? It’s highly unlikely. What he really wants to do is sell for what is now an unrealistic price, but for a supposedly astute businessman he seems to be gambling a hell of a lot on Newcastle’s Premier League survival, without giving Benitez anything to work with.