Disgraceful Mike Ashley stat emerges - and people wonder why Rafa & NUFC are struggling..
A horrific stat has emerged in the Times, highlighting that we have the lowest net spend in the league across the last three windows - with Mike Ashley gaining £2m on transfers between the summer of 2017 and now.
When you consider the context that were also a newly promoted side, one that needed clear investment, it really does highlight the total lack of interest Mike Ashley has in succeeding on the pitch at Newcastle. Ashley will wheel out the lazy claims that he can't compete with Manchester City but this shows we can't compete with anyone in the top flight - including the teams we came up with in Brighton (£108m) and Huddersfield (£71m), or even the sides that came up this year.
The claim we couldn't spend in the summer of 2017 as we needed to wait for the TV money can be totally quashed, looking at this graphic:
If you don't compete in the market, you can't expect to survive in the league - never mind compete. This makes a total mockery of the claim he 'will invest every penny earned' into the team. The reality is we have far more debt than when Ashley bought the club, an inferior playing squad and two relegations - with a real risk of a third. Investment isn't a favour to the fans - it protects your asset and will make NUFC more valuable in the long term.
It's clear that Ashley feels he's got the ideal manager in Benitez when it comes to someone being able to keep us up on the bare minimum, but - as Rafa keeps telling us - there's only so long he can perform miracles. Something has to give and will, this summer.
