Supermac Talks About Ashley's 'Monumental Mistakes'!
"When you hit such lows as Newcastle have, on and off the pitch, these last few months, the one thing guaranteed to follow if you don't put things right after relegation is another relegation.
"I experienced it myself with Bobby Robson at Fulham back in 1969. He was brought in after relegation from the old Division One, but the older players at the club, who had been his team-mates, didn't want to change.
"A rebellion happened and Bobby was sacked. The senior players won the battle, but they didn't win the war - because Fulham got relegated again.
"I'm not saying Newcastle will do the same, but the formula is there for it to happen.
"If people are thinking Newcastle are automatically just going to bounce back they will be massively disappointed.
"Things MUST be changed at the club. Why are things not being changed?
"Things are just being left to drift on the premise that the club is being sold, but why?
"No new owner in his right mind would not appoint Alan Shearer as manager, so why is he not already in the job and cracking on with what has to be done this summer?
"There is a crucial period in the close season when you can pull off transfers early and inject new life into the dressing room.
"The need for that is no more obvious than at Newcastle.
"The best deals usually happen in the first 10 days after the season ends. That's when I did my best business as a manager.
"You get in quick before a player has other things or other teams to think about.
"But Newcastle didn't do anything because they had no one there to do it.
"They have to get rid of 12 or 13 people on £50,000-plus a week and get in some hungry, up-and-coming players in their place.
"It needs to happen - or rather, it needed to happen. To basically ignore the summer because nobody is in charge is sheer madness.
"That situation won't be lost on the current squad.
"If you were a player right now at Newcastle and were still hungry to achieve something in the game, would you want to stay?
"The people who will want to stay are the ones who are grossly overpaid on silly contracts and have never done it yet for Newcastle United on the field of play - and never will.
"Of course, there have been monumental mistakes made off the field, but it all comes down to the team on the park in the end.
"Those off-field mistakes have bred problems on the pitch. But how certain players have taken advantage of that fact.
"I'm not saying they do it consciously. They may do their best to try to convince themselves as well as us that they're doing all they can for the club.
"But while their fat contracts run down, there's actually been an awful lot lacking for an awful long time.
"New players coming in have seen standards are low; they haven't had to raise their game a level to fit in. And mediocrity can be contagious."