The Athletic’s George Caulkin has been discussing Mike Ashley during a recent episode of the Pod On The Tyne, along with Taylor Payne and Chris Waugh.
Last week, the club released a statement confirming that they have issued arbitration proceedings against the Premier League. This comes after the proposed Saudi-led takeover of the club collapsed earlier this year due to delays in the owners’ and directors’ test process, subsequently leading to the prospective owners pulling out of the deal.
The journalist feels that the tenacity being shown by Mike Ashley in his attempts to force the deal with the Saudi-backed consortium through is both “encouraging” and “interesting”. Here is what he had to say in full:
“It proves this beyond measure, that Mike Ashley is determined to get out and is determined to sell to this lot if he humanly can.
“And so, [the latest developments are] a real reaffirmation of that. And the other thing is, he is not at all unhappy about kicking the Premier League as much as possible along the way. So I find those things kind of encouraging and also interesting.”
Do you find it strange being on the same side of a dispute as Mike Ashley?
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TIF Thoughts on George Caulkin’s comments regarding Mike Ashley…
In our view, Ashley’s determination to see the deal eventually approved not only highlights his desperation to get out of the club but also, that he must feel he has a strong case and a substantial chance of earning a favourable ruling as a result of the arbitration proceedings.
Despite the rocky relationship Ashley has had with the supporters at St. James’ Park since arriving on the scene, on this subject, it seems those who follow the club and the businessman are finally united.
Although it seems plenty of work is going on behind the scenes in order to try and resolve the dispute with the Premier League, we believe that matters on the field should be the immediate priority given the club have slipped down to 15th position, winning just one of their last five fixtures.