As Newcastle United starts a new week ... in TURMOIL ... Mike Ashley again refuses to stand up and be counted. WHY?

He issued a statement at the weekend that read more like a kid seeking bitter revenge for a schoolyard squabble ... rather than an official statement giving the state of play at St James' Park!

It was nothing short of embarrassing!

"It is a fact ... it is a fact ... it is a fact, ect" and you could just picture the Newcastle owner, who has probably gone back to wearing his old Spurs shirt in protest, sat there sticking pins in a Kevin Keegan doll.

Despite hundreds, if not thousands, of requests by the media for the Toon owner to stand and face the music, he again insists he is talking to no-one.

All we get is this Michael Jackson-type weirdo handing out slips of information, obviously frightened he has to face a few tricky questions.

I have yet to come across ANYONE who believes Ashley is right, or shows any sympathy for him.

Former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer, who would be a popular choice to succeed Keegan, insisted today there was no way he could take on the job with the current structure in place.