---
title: "Newcastle: Kieran Maguire reacts to Mike Ashley furlough news"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/newcastle-toon-magpies-mike-ashley-steve-bruce-furlough-keiran-maguire/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "jonathan radcliffe"
section: "Features"
published: "2021-05-17T17:05:19Z"
modified: "2021-05-17T17:05:19Z"
---

# Newcastle: Kieran Maguire reacts to Mike Ashley furlough news

**Kieran Maguire has reacted to the news that Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley claimed between £100,001 and £250,000 in February as part of the United Kingdom government’s furlough scheme.**

### **The Lowdown: Ashley makes use of scheme**

The global pandemic has wreaked havoc across Britian over the past year or so, with many being unable to work as result. As such, the UK government introduced a furlough scheme which allowed business owners to pay their staff via their funds.

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However, Ashley decided to use the scheme even though he has the money to pay his employees himself. It has now been revealed he claimed between £100,001 and £250,000 during the month of February ([www.gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme-statistics-february-2021/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme-statistics-february-2021)).

[The Athletic](https://theathletic.com/2570795/2021/05/11/mike-ashleys-dark-forces-talk-is-a-shameless-attempt-to-present-himself-as-the-fans-champion/?source=emp-shared-article) reported that Newcastle have continued to receive state funding despite no public acknowledgement of their use of the furlough scheme.

### **The Latest: Maguire says it is “awkward”**

Speaking to [Football Insider](https://www.footballinsider247.com/kieran-maguire-makes-awkward-ashley-claim-at-newcastle-as-government-doc-reveals-all/), football finance expert Maguire has said that the news is “uncomfortable” for Ashley. He said:

> *“There is a case for saying that if football clubs are legally permitted to use furlough, what’s all the fuss about?*
>
> *“The furlough scheme’s proper title is the ‘job retention scheme’. If in the long term this helps to retain jobs in Newcastle, you can see the benefit.*
>
> *“From Mike Ashley’s point of view, he’s desperate to sell Newcastle. If this is a way of getting some more money into the club, why would he not do it?*
>
> *“If he’s coped with all the criticism that’s come his way historically, this will be water off a duck’s back.*
>
> *“It’s an awkward one, however. It looks uncomfortable.*
>
> *“The sums involved are actually quite small. If it’s £100,000-a-month for a year, it works out as around 1.5 per cent of the total wage bill.*
>
> *“For the clubs that have turned it down, they have probably benefitted in terms of their relationship with the fans.*
>
> *“Ashley has no relationship with the Newcastle fans that can ever be resurrected. So he’s just said: ‘Sod you lot, I’ll do what’s best for my wallet’.”*

### **The Verdict: Are we surprised?**

It is hard to be too surprised by this latest news – it has long been known that Ashley puts profit above all else ([The Mag](https://www.themag.co.uk/2019/10/the-truth-about-the-money-mike-ashley-does-make-from-newcastle-united-a-must-read/)). That is one of the many reasons why so many Newcastle fans are desperate for him to sell the club and leave St James’ Park ([The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2019/aug/09/in-black-and-white-why-newcastle-united-fans-want-mike-ashley-out-podcast)), and who can blame them?

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It must also be made clear that Ashley was not the only owner to take advantage of the scheme – both Daniel Levy at Tottenham ([ITV](https://www.itv.com/news/2020-04-13/spurs-backtrack-on-furloughing-non-playing-staff-during-coronavirus-crisis)) and John Henry at Liverpool ([france24.com](https://www.france24.com/en/20200406-liverpool-backtrack-over-decision-to-furlough-staff)) went down the same path. The difference in both of those cases, though, is that they eventually changed their minds, whereas Ashley seemingly has no intention of doing that.

***In other news, [Newcastle are interested in signing this Premier League forward.](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/newcastle-united-transfer-rumours/tyler-roberts-leeds-premier-league/)***