Scouts have Longstaff in their sights
Changing the name of the stadium bar from Shearer’s to Nine went down like a lead balloon, and the fact that Shearer’s statue is outside the premises on Barrack Road underlines how the club’s relationship with its greatest ever goalscorer has dwindled since Ashley fell out with the legendary ex-striker in 2009.
Then there was the ban for ncjMedia that stretched from October 2013 to December 2014 over a report about fans taking to the streets to protest against Ashley.
This resulted in a ridiculous situation in which the Press officer at the time used to block our reporters’ questions in Press conferences at away games, with our publications banned altogether from home games and home Press conferences.
Alan Pardew tried to distance himself from the ban, but this came after he had signed a letter along with then director of football Joe Kinnear to kick the Press out.
On the subject of Kinnear, the fact that United brought him back in 2013 as director of football for a second time following a disastrous spell as manager tells its own story. The Chronicle broke the Kinnear story back then, but it took the club days to confirm
After a disastrous spell as manager, Joe Kinnear returned to United as director of football in 2013 it and the former Wimbledon’s rant on Talksport – when he branded his star player Yohan “Kebab” – made for another painful episode.
As we start to look back on the decade that was, another relegation unfolded in 2016 after Newcastle reacted too slowly to a bad start to the season for Steve McClaren. By the time they had managed to persuade Benitez to take over the club were on the brink of the drop and the Spaniard couldn’t save them.
Those close to Benitez say he offered to take the job much earlier than when he was eventually appointed, and the fact that just one more win would have saved Newcastle sums up the fine margins of delaying important decisions.
The decade has finished uncomfortably for Ashley and the fans.
A drop in attendances this season come on the back of a power battle with Benitez which ultimately finished up with the Spaniard deciding to leave due to the lack of ambition at the club.
When leaving he said: “I lost trust at Newcastle. If those in charge had my ambition, I would still be there.”
After a summer of discontent on Tyneside, Ashley opted to give Steve Bruce the job of his dreams, but he arrived into the role amid a barrage of criticism.
He has slowly improved the results and Newcastle are actually in better shape than they were 12 months ago points-wise.
But big questions at Newcastle still remain and Ashley doesn’t seem keen to answer them soon.
NEWCASTLE United youngster Matty Longstaff is set to be scouted by a host of top European clubs this tonight if he makes his England bow against Portugal.
The Under-20 clash in the northern Portuguese town of Agueda will have a clutch of scouts from Spain’s La Liga and France’s Ligue 1 watching on in the stands – as well as talentspotters from Porto and Benfica – with word spreading that Longstaff can talk to clubs from abroad from January.
Longstaff is available for a knockdown compensation fee of around £400,000 at the end of his current deal, which ends in June.
Talks between the club and the 19-year-old midfielder have been ongoing in recent weeks but United are yet to break the deadlock, despite Steve Bruce being eager to get the Academy product tied down to a new deal.
Longstaff won Match of the Day’s goal of the month award and the Premier League’s Budweiser of the month for October with his strike against Manchester United.
After scoring that goal, Longstaff said: “Scoring the goal is still a bit of a dream.
“As a kid growing up you want it and you think, will it ever happen?
“The thing was to try to get a good connection and I was hoping that it went towards the goal; thankfully for me it ended up hitting the back of the net.
“Even if I score another 100 goals, I don’t think any of them will match that feeling.
“Getting to do it on your debut makes it even more special.”