Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has been hit by plunging profits at his flagship company Sports Direct, according to a reliable journalist – and fans are happy, but concerned about the possible knock-on effects for their club.
Mark Douglas, from the Newcastle Chronicle, made the claim on his personal Twitter page on Thursday morning, saying that Sports Direct profits were down 73%.
Sports Direct profits down a whopping 73%, the company has just announced…
— Mark Douglas (@MsiDouglas) July 19, 2018
That comes as a shock after it was reported that the company was looking to post big profits just last week.
However, the Financial Times has reported that Sports Direct has taken an £85million hit after building a large stake in the high street chain Debenhams.
Profits have been reported as down 73 per cent to £28m.
Newcastle fans don’t care about Ashley after seeing him run their club into the ground because of lack of investment in players, but they are concerned that this news will have a knock-on effect on their club.
A few fans had said that this reveals the truth behind why no transfers have been made yet this summer.
Here are the best reactions from Newcastle fans:
https://twitter.com/MylesG_9/status/1019831912339296256
Maybe he needs to quickly sell one of his other assets to cover the loss? Say, for circa £300m?
— TV’s Joseph Fowler (@KumaYama100) July 19, 2018
https://twitter.com/ScottyT9804/status/1019831109515993090
https://twitter.com/TheNotoriousAAM/status/1019832683751493632
Share price will be interesting viewing today…
His net worth could crumble if that wasn't forecasted (do you know if it was?)
— David Pick (@davidpick1987) July 19, 2018
https://twitter.com/RichySouthern/status/1019838343356600320
— Si (@Silo_1980) July 19, 2018
https://twitter.com/Kris_Newcastle/status/1019837253072367618
Well now we know where #nufc’s money has gone.
— Craig Thomson (@BooBoy_1) July 19, 2018
https://twitter.com/ShaunGrey22/status/1019834514527457281
we know the truth now…
— King (@KingForToon) July 19, 2018
OPINION
Ashley, Newcastle and Sports Direct are obviously linked but this seems to have less to do with Sports Direct doing badly, and more to do with Ashley taking a big hit on Debenhams. However, a few fans are hoping that this hit to his pocket will make him more keen to sell Newcastle and fill them back up again. That’s not going to happen this summer and many other fans won’t get their hopes up after coming seemingly close to a buyout at Christmas, only for it to collapse. It looks like Newcastle fans will have to put up with Ashley for a while longer.
