Former Newcastle boss Jim Smith, who was less than complimentary to the club in his infamous autobiography, has described Mike Ashley's handling of the club as "a crime".

Smith, who managed Newcastle from 1988-91, had a tough time at Newcastle following the play-off defeat to the Mackems.

Jim Smith: "It originally happened and the guy went in with all of that money and we all thought 'this is it, this is a tremendous opportunity for Newcastle to hit the big time'.

"They are a big-time club and they're a fantastic team with fantastic support.

"But obviously he went in there with no plan, no professionalism and it's gone downhill ever since. It's a crime.

"Hopefully the right owners can come in and sort it out because everybody knows Newcastle should be in the Premier League and challenging for honours."