Fans of Newcastle United have been reacting to a post on Twitter, in which George Caulkin relays an anecdote told by Stephen Ireland in a recent article in The Athletic.
Ireland, who spent four months on loan at Newcastle between January and May of 2011, recently spoke to The Athletic’s Daniel Taylor, discussing his career in general as well as a desire to start playing football again.
In one part of the article, the 33-year-old talks about his spell in the North East, stating: “I went to Newcastle, injured, on loan from Villa. I got back fit after three weeks. I was flying, doing great. Then the manager, Alan Pardew, pulls me and says, ‘By the way, the loan deal is every time you make an appearance, whether it’s one minute or 90 minutes, we have to pay 50 grand … so I’ve been told I can only use you four times’. I couldn’t believe it.”
After this segment of the article was relayed on Twitter by George Caulkin, fans of Newcastle flocked to have their say on the matter, with many stating that Ireland’s experience of playing for the club sums up the ‘Mike Ashley era’.
https://twitter.com/FLSchar5/status/1275780232075755520
Classic Ashley.
— Mouth of the Tyne ??? (@ToonMouthTyne) June 24, 2020
Another reminder of why this takeover has to go through, utter disgrace ashley was allowed to buy our club in hindsight…. What are the, EPL like? Playing god with all our emotions it seems
— jossy b (@jossyb16) June 24, 2020
During his time at the club, Ireland made just two first-team appearances for the side, which, by his own admission, cost Newcastle £100k and was two less than the club had decided he would play throughout his loan spell.
His career had started brightly, scoring 23 goals and providing 24 assists over his 174 games with Manchester City, however, following his move to Aston Villa, his progression halted rather dramatically, making just 130 more first-team appearances – including his two for Newcastle – throughout the rest of his playing days.
And, in reaction to the former Republic of Ireland international’s story, many more Newcastle fans flocked to criticise their club.
That’s insane
— R J (@NUFCKent) June 25, 2020
Explains alot absolute Mike Ashley business written all over it
— steven jones (@towlawstev) June 24, 2020
Rotten to the core NUFC under Ashley
— BRUCE MACGREGOR (@BRUCEMACGREGO12) June 24, 2020
Thats why we need the takeover
— Wilk (@Wilk1979) June 24, 2020
As can be seen, many of these Newcastle fans have used Ireland’s tale of his experience at the club to be another reason why they would like the club’s ongoing takeover bid to be approved by the Premier League.
Is Mike Ashley the worst club owner in the Premier League?
Yes
No
And, we have to agree, Ireland’s deal sounded like an extremely odd one – and is definitely not something you would typically associate with a well-run football club.