It may come as a surprise to many that Mike Ashley does not top the list, but the controversial Newcastle United owner is certainly seen as a villain by the majority of the Magpies faithful. The Sport Direct owner bought Newcastle for more than £135million in May 2007 and paid off the club's huge debts - achieving short-term success and his arrival was initially lauded by supporters, with Ashley seen downing pints in the terraces at away games while wearing replica jerseys, such was his popularity. Yet, the fallout from Kevin Keegan's third exit from the club, the appointment of Joe Kinnear as interim boss and Newcastle's eventual relegation to the Championship in 2009 meant Ashley became hated on Tyneside - and the owner announced he was looking to sell. Within months though Ashley withdrew his offer to sell and instead released future plans of how the club would be run on a more financially-prudent basis - and uproar ensued in Newcastle when it was announced that St James' Park would be renamed as "sportsdirect.com@StJames'ParkStadium" and then as the "Sports Direct Arena". A number of other controversial moves followed - including the sacking of Chris Hughton, the appointment of Alan Pardew, the decision to sell Andy Carroll and other key players, and an inability to adequately invest in the squad, to name but a few - and Ashley became branded as leading the "Cockney Mafia". Pardew may have faced the majority of the criticism throughout the 2014-15 season, but Ashley's decision to replace his former boss temporarily with first-team coach John Carver has proved disastrous - and Newcastle fans will not be happy until the owner, who also holds an 8.92% stake in Rangers, is out of their club.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
