---
title: "Newcastle United: Simon Jordan drops bizarre Mike Ashley claim"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/newcastle-united-simon-jordan-drops-bizarre-mike-ashley-claim/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Adam Clancy"
section: "Newcastle United"
published: "2021-01-28T15:15:42Z"
modified: "2021-01-28T15:15:42Z"
---

# Newcastle United: Simon Jordan drops bizarre Mike Ashley claim

**Simon Jordan has revealed a quite shocking claim on Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley.**

Speaking on [talkSPORT](https://talksport.com/) (via [The Chronicle](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/newcastle-mike-ashley-simon-jordan-19716546)), the former owner of Crystal Palace claimed that the chief executive of Sports Direct bought the Tyneside club to win a bet:

*“Mike Ashley has done a lot of things wrong at that football club and I think he was stupid to have bought it in the first place, and I told him so at the time.*

*“I think the idea of buying it was a bet between him and Paul Kemsley, the ex-vice-chairman at Spurs, that he wouldn’t do it.*

*“Mike was in a different state of mind at the time. He didn’t realise what the landscape of football can be like.”*

### Shocking

Since Ashley launched his takeover in the North East back in [2007](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/may/23/football), the highest that the Magpies have finished in the Premier League is 5th, while they have also been relegated twice down to the EFL Championship ([Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/newcastle-united/platzierungen/verein/762)).

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In Ashley’s reign, the Toon Army have also only managed to go as far as the quarter-finals in both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup ([Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/newcastle-united/pokalhistorie/verein/762)), in what has been a pretty dismal period for NUFC fans.

\[freshpress-quiz id=”343794″\]

If what Jordan says is true, it suggests that Ashley’s lack of ambition during his tenure is easily explainable – why would someone invest heavily into something they only bought for a laugh in the first place?

It really is a quite shocking claim, and yet more reason why Newcastle fans are desperate for the [proposed takeover](https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/11283740/newcastle-utd-340m-takeover-mike-ashley/) which was blocked last year.

[***In other news, find out what transfer blow the Toon have been dealt here!***](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/newcastle-united-transfer-rumours/newcastle-united-brandon-williams-loan-move-blocked/)