‘Ashley at root of Toon problems’

FRUSTRATED Newcastle United supporters believe Mike Ashley is the main culprit responsible for the Magpies’ dismal season to date.

The second round of Sky Bet’s Fan Hope Survey has revealed 88% of United fans believe the club will succumb to the third relegation of the Ashley era.

Newcastle’s cushion over the drop zone stands at just one point following a run of two wins in their last 17 league matches.

The bookmakers now consider the Magpies the favourites to be playing Championship football next season, alongside West Brom and Sheffield United.

The Fan Hope Survey was compiled by Sky Bet in conjunction with YouGov, and polled more than 2,000 UK supporters for their expectations for the remainder of the season.

Scores from each question are combined to give a Fan Hope score between 1-10, indicating just how optimistic each fanbase is ahead of the closing months of the campaign.

Newcastle’s Fan Hope score of just 2.63 is the third-lowest in the Premier League, and represents a drop from their pre-season total of 3.71.

When it comes to apportioning blame for the miserable season so far, Magpies fans believe Ashley is the main offender.

In comparison to the 28% of supporters who reckon Steve Bruce is responsible for United’s recent form, 52% voted in favour of the club’s owner.

Fans were also asked to what extent the players were responsible for the poor run of results, but only 8% of supporters believe the team are to blame. Low expectations are a continued theme for the first round of the survey where 79% of fans listed “avoiding relegation” as their main hope ahead of the season.