’Twas the Mike before Christmas...

MIKE ASHLEY told a House of Commons select committee last week that he wasn’t Father Christmas, after being portrayed as the potential ‘saviour of the High Street’.

Newcastle fans must have thought that Santa Claus had come to Toon when the multi-millionaire Sports Direct tycoon bought the club in 2007.

Previous custodians Sir John Hall and Freddy Shepherd – who had presided over the era of Kevin Keegan (below), when his Toon side were called “The Great Entertainers” – believed Ashley had the drive and financial clout to lift Newcastle United to a higher level.

At first, Ashley was having drinks with fans and appeared to be the man to lift the footballing fog on the Tyne in the aftermath of

Keegan’s departure. Newcastle were drifting in mid-table under Sam Allardyce, but, within months Big Sam had been booted and ‘King Kev’ was back.

But that Tyneside marriage quickly turned into an acrimonious divorce and since then, it’s been open warfare between fans and owner, as managers swept in and out of Tyneside during two relegations and promotions.

All this has been played out against a backdrop of uncertainty about the future, with Ashley anxious to sell for a number of years.

An Ashley insider said: “Mike knows he is not wanted by the fans, but still wants to hand it over to someone capable of moving it on.”

A sale will be the best Christmas present Toon fans could hope for.