How Newcastle United players took hardline stance against Mike Ashley's frugal bonus scheme
Newcastle United players took a hardline stance in a dispute with Mike Ashley over end-of-season bonuses.
Isaac Hayden has revealed how Mike Ashley tried to reduce Newcastle United players’ bonuses during his final years as owner.
In May 2018, the Magpies were enjoying a solid end to the campaign - their first following Premier League promotion the previous year. Newcastle secured a 10th-placed finish under Rafa Benitez by thrashing Chelsea 3-0 at St James' Park.
A top-half finish called for a handsome post-season bonus - a reality that did not sit well with Newcastle’s frugal former owner. Seven years earlier, Joey Barton publicly feuded with the Toon hierarchy over their attempts to renegotiate the bonus structure.
Isaac Hayden on Newcastle United saga
Speaking to the MoreJamesAllcott podcast, former Toon midfielder Hayden discussed how Ashley attempted a similar stunt after Newcastle exceeded expectations. He said: “On the last day of the season, we played Chelsea, I believe it was, at home. I remember it like it was yesterday, it was a beautiful May's day.
“St James' Park was rocking, it was the last home game of the season. We could either finish 10th or 14th. We ended up beating Chelsea 3-0 and finished 10th. So, as you can imagine, first season back in the Premier League, the bonus was good to finish just above the relegation zone.
“I don't think he thought that we were going to finish 10th. We got a fairly substantial bonus as a group of lads. The following year, I think he was thinking, ‘Hang on, we can't be giving out this sort of bonus again’.
“He then thought ‘Oh, well, I'm going to drop the bonus now because you've received so much last year’. All the lads were like, ‘Well, I don't think you realise how good we were to get 10th in the first season back’.”
Newcastle United players took action
Hayden also opened up about the squad taking a hardline stance to resolve the issue. He added: “For FIFA, you have to do the headshots and the walkthroughs and all the pictures for Sky and everything. They only come up for a set day. If you don't do it on that set day, you get fined and then you have to redo it again.
“None of the lads did any of the walkthroughs and everything. And for FIFA, no headshots, nothing. It was a bold move but you do it as a group decision because you want to get what's fair.
“In a backwards way, I think Mike actually liked it. I think he kind of liked the negotiation in the fact that we weren't just going to be like, ‘Oh yeah, we'll do this’ because he was a very hard negotiator as well. We ended up getting to a point where both sides were happy.”