Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has once again angered the clubs supporters after he sacked manager Chris Hughton. Despite Newcastle’s poor run of form, Hughton’s sacking does come as a major shock, and is incredibly disrespectful to the man who has helped bring the club back to the Premier League.
Hughton had been a terrific servant to the club. He looked on as the St James’ Park outfit imploded after years of turmoil working in various roles before finally taking full-time control of the club last year.
Admittedly he was blessed with a squad that was far too strong for the Championship, but Hughton masterminded the clubs revival, and so far this season has produced a solid mid-table side, something that with a general lack of investment from the clubs owners, is an achievement in itself.
There have been some real highs for the Newcastle so far this season. A Carling Cup win at Chelsea, a 1-0 win at Arsenal in the league, and most notably a 5-1 hammering of bitter rivals Sunderland, but yet still Ashley has opted to show Hughton the exit door.
In a statement the club thanked Hughton for his services but claimed they needed a manager with more experience. But the question is; why would an experienced manager want to take on the impossible task of working with Mike Ashley.
Since arriving at the club in the summer of 2007, Ashley has dismissed five managers, why on earth would another manager want to risk the same fate?
Take somebody like Martin O’Neill who has all the managerial capabilities to help take Newcastle to the next level, but in order to succeed would need time. At Newcastle he would never get the opportunity to build sustainable success, and would soon be classed as failure by Ashley.
In general, a lack of patience and over-ambition is something that many owners suffer with, and Ashley is no different. But he must understand that he will never be able to attract a top manager with this attitude, and therefore never be able to take the club forward. You have to feel for whoever takes over the reigns at the club next, because working with Ashley is guaranteed sacking on their managerial CV.
