Newcastle United player with 171 appearances defends Mike Ashley’s ownership
Mike Ashley is detested on Tyneside for his 14-year reign as Newcastle United owner.
Isaac Hayden has defended Mike Ashley for running Newcastle United in a “financially sustainable” manner before selling the club to the Public Investment Fund.
Signed in 2016, the former Toon midfielder helped re-establish the Magpies in the Premier League during the latter chapters of Ashley’s ownership. The Sports Direct tycoon is detested on Tyneside for his 14-year reign as Newcastle owner.
Relegations, stadium name changes, fan protests, offloading star players and a lack of investment are just a few reasons why Ashley will always be a controversial figure at St James’ Park. However, Hayden - who made 171 appearances for Newcastle before officially leaving last year - can understand his point of view.
Isaac Hayden defends Mike Ashley
Speaking to the MoreJamesAllcott podcast, Hayden opened up about playing for Newcastle during such a toxic period, He said: “It's a weird one because, obviously the fans… there was a big backlash and clash with Mike Ashley.
“In terms of the investment, he couldn't take the club forwards to the level of which Newcastle fans and what everyone associated with Newcastle wanted. Because fans of any football club always want the best for their club.
“And I just think Mike, in terms of his net worth and the money that he could put into the club, he didn't have the money of the (Roman) Abramovichs at the time and the (Manchester) United's and the bigger clubs in terms of the money they could put in. But he always ran it in a sustainable if you actually think about it. It was a bit too sustainable.
“It was, you know, very sustainable. But when you look at it, the takeover happened and they (Newcastle) were in a financially very, very stable position to be able to then, in that January, push on and not get hit with any major financial issues. It wasn't as if he was running it poorly in a business sense. Just, on a football sense, it was probably not what the fans wanted.”
Isaac Hayden reveals Mike Ashley stand-off
Hayden also discussed the stand-off between Newcastle players and the former owner regarding end-of-season bonuses in 2018. He added: “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’.”