Newcastle Have Been Harmed by Mike Ashley's Lack of Football Understanding, Says Pardew: Daily Soccer Report

Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew says that the club have been harmed by owner Mike Ashley’s lack of football understanding.

Here’s what Alan Pardew said in an interview with Sky Sports:

“Mike is a strong character. He comes from a background of whatever he’s done in his business career, he’s been a success. And when you come into football the logic doesn’t quite fit.

“There’s a way to run a business, and it can be any business – it can be a clothing business, it can be a car industry – and we have many of these people in the game now, don’t we, who have made their millions from mining etc, they’ve come from different fields, and Mike comes from a field where he’s been aggressive with his tactics in the sports world and it’s brought him huge success.

“He’s a genius when it comes to that world. That’s his world. This is not his world. But he loves football, trust me, and he wants Newcastle to do well. Why wouldn’t he?

“But he can’t understand the logic sometimes of how it works, and it confuses him and I think it upsets him, and sometimes when he’s upset I think he does some things that are not brilliant for the football club.

“That’s just Mike, but I can think of a lot of owners who are less good than Mike. And I think he’s funded the club. We’ve got no debt other than to Mike, so we’re not in a bad position, but we’re not where our fans want to be.”

While what Pardew says may be true, I’m not so sure that his chairman will take too kindly to Pardew exposing some of the doubts and weaknesses about Mike Ashley. Unless Ashley is fine with the club’s manager being so open about his feelings? Somehow I doubt that.

Here are today’s world soccer news headlines:

Premier League

• Newcastle have been harmed by Mike Ashley’s lack of football understanding, says Pardew — Telegraph
• Newcastle’s Mike Ashley can rock the boat when upset, said manager Pardew — The Guardian
• Carlton Cole has agreed deal to return to West Ham — Sky Sports
• Robert Lewandowski says he still wants to play in EPL and joining Bayern is not a done deal — Telegraph
• Fulham owner Shahid Khan vows not to ‘act on impulse’ over future of Martin Jol — Independent
• Arsenal can land Benzema for just £20m in January as Real Madrid target Liverpool’s Suarez — 101GG
• Damien Comolli keen on return to Premier League — The Mail

International soccer

• Journalist arrested for filming World Cup 2022 construction sites — ESPN FC
• How Poland could derail England’s World Cup dream — Pro Soccer Talk
• Brazilian sun shines on Swiss football — Swiss Info

Serie A

• Allegri plans Milan shuffle — Football Italia

Football League

• Bury manager Kevin Blackwell sacked by League Two strugglers — BBC Sport
• The draw for the Fourth Round Qualifying round of the FA Cup has been made — The FA

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