OPINION
Dennis Wise has never been the most popular man on Tyneside. The former Chelsea midfielder spent an ill-fated spell at Newcastle United as Executive Director of Football under Mike Ashley, but is widely regarded by many fans as a glorified propagandist for the controversial owner. And his latest comments will have done little to dispel that suspicion in the north east. Speaking on Sky Sports News, as reported by the Chronicle (15.11), he said: “I know Mike Ashley and he cares for Newcastle – even if fans say he doesn’t. He runs them in a structured way. He’s not there to pile hundreds of millions into the club. He’ll only sell to someone who’ll take it forward.” This is blatantly false from Wise, and this kind of rhetoric can be really damaging for the Magpies. At the moment, it feels like the Toon Army are fighting a battle against their owner with very little backing from the outside world. There is no accountability for Ashley’s actions beyond the confines of the north east, and that means that a lot of the legitimate complaints that are made by fans are instantly batted away as being whiney or hyperbolic. That’s not fair, and it has created a culture in which the protests that United fans hold are often belittled and dismissed. The sooner it is made clear just how damaging Ashley has been for the club, and the sooner talking heads like Wise are taken with a pinch of salt, the better for Newcastle.
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