... Newcastle's poor start to the season.
Newcastle – who lost 1-0 to Stoke on Monday Night Football – are still without a league win this season and Coates feels for his opposite number at St James' Park.
Coates has been through tough times himself during his first spell as Stoke chairman which ended in 1998 after the club were relegated to the third tier amid protests against his running of the club.
He bought the club back in 2005 and oversaw their promotion to the Premier League three years later – but still remembers when things were not going so well.
Peter Coates
Peter Coates: “Football is a very difficult business.
“It’s easy when you’re winning but when you’re not, it’s tough.
“I have sympathy with chairmen and coaches in situations like that because I’ve experienced it and it’s not very nice.
“They could turn the corner – a win can make all the difference. A couple of wins and they’ll be two-thirds up the table.
“I had a lot of stick – it was a hostile crowd and an unpleasant environment and it makes it very difficult to work in – for everybody.
“I can remember the police wanting to know where I was going because they’d had threats – I’ve experienced the other side of this business.
“It’s not fun when it’s going wrong, I can assure you.”