Ashley bought the "business" six years ago, and it is claimed he will listen to offers, but it is "not a matter of urgency".
Indeed, that has been the situation since the day he completed a £134.4million takeover during the summer of 2007.
Above all else, Ashley is a businessman and the chance to make a profit on a club in which he has since invested in excess of a further £130million is one which would prove difficult to resist.
However, the fact remains that there are no offers on the table and none in the pipeline.
Ashley has, of course, twice tried to sell Newcastle - once in the wake of Kevin Keegan's departure from his second spell as manager, and then again following relegation from the Barclays Premier League at the end of the 2008-09 season with fans in open revolt on both occasions.
However, at neither point did any party come remotely close to clinching a deal despite fevered speculation, with even an ill-fated mission to the cash-rich Middle East failing to smoke out a buyer.
Having taken the club off the market for the second time in October 2009 with then manager Chris Hughton and his players engaged in what would prove to be a successful battle to drag it back into the top flight at the first attempt, Ashley drew a line in the sand and set about the task of rebuilding it.
United struggled over the line to safety last season, with manager Alan Pardew baring the brunt of supporter frustration, but Ashley and Derek Llambias finding were also in the firing line.
However, a new pantomime villain strode on to the stage last week when the much-maligned Joe Kinnear was handed the role of director of football, prompting Llambias' exit and a fresh wave of bile.
Several hundred supporters attended a meeting at Newcastle Labour Club on Monday evening at which a motion was passed calling on Ashley to get out of town, something which has been a familiar refrain throughout his reign.
But as he has shown so often in the past, that will be of little concern to Ashley, who remains as thick skinned as ever.
But if someone came up with a good offer ...
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLIES:
Motherwell (A) July 16
Rio Ave (A) July 20
Pacos Ferreira (A) July 23
Blackpool (A) July 29
St Mirren (A) July 31
Braga (H) August 10
WE TELL IT AS IT IS - NO BULLSHIT!
Follow Newcastle Utd-Mad on Facebook:-
Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Newcastleutd-mad/199695536844554
NEWCASTLE UNITED FIXTURES ...
Saturday August 17
15:00Premier League Manchester City v Newcastle United
Saturday August 24
15:00Premier League Newcastle United v West Ham United
Saturday August 31
15:00Premier League Newcastle United v Fulham Saturday
September 14
15:00Premier League Aston Villa v Newcastle United
Saturday September 21
15:00Premier League Newcastle United v Hull City
Saturday September 28
15:00Premier League Everton Newcastle v United
Saturday October 5
15:00Premier League Cardiff City v Newcastle United
Saturday October 19
15:00Premier League Newcastle United v Liverpool
Saturday October 26
15:00Premier League Sunderland v Newcastle United
Saturday November 2