– Joe Kinnear leaves Newcastle for a second time, this time following a chaotic stint as the club’s director of football, during which he gave an infamous interview to TalkSport in which he referred to Yohan Cabaye as ‘Yohan Kebab’. S– Ashley causes widespread bafflement when he hands Alan Pardew a new eight-year contract as Newcastle manager following a fifth-placed Premier League finish. – Ashley sparks fury among supporters when he announces St James’ Park will be renamed the Sports Direct Arena. – Ashley hires Alan Pardew to replace Chris Hughton with the club sitting 11th in the Premier League and only a few weeks after a 5-1 win in the derby against Sunderland. – Shearer is unable to prevent Newcastle’s relegation from the Premier League and leaves the club soon afterwards.Īp– Newcastle secure promotion back to the Premier League under Chris Hughton after promotion rivals Nottingham Forest fail to beat Cardiff. – Ashley announces he is putting the club up for sale after angry fans launch protests in wake of Keegan’s departure.Īp– Having taken Newcastle off the market and appointed Joe Kinnear as interim manager, Ashley hands the reins to another club legend in Alan Shearer. – Keegan’s second coming is short-lived as he resigns due to disagreements over the club’s transfer policy, later winning a £2m pay-out for constructive dismissal. – Ashley delights Newcastle supporters by persuading Kevin Keegan to return to St James’ Park for a second spell as the club’s manager.

– Sam Allardyce, the manager appointed by previous chairman Freddy Shepherd shortly before Ashley launched his takeover bid, is sacked only eight months into his reign. – Ashley buys Sir John Hall’s 41.6 per cent stake in the club at a cost of £55.3m, setting the wheels in motion for a £134.4m takeover which is completed a month later. Timeline of Mike Ashley's Newcastle reign It is a decade since Newcastle won that fixture, the draw last time out in 2016 ending an improbable run of six consecutive defeats in the Tyne-Wear derby. If the aim was to strip supporters of any pride, their record against rivals Sunderland only underlined the point.

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Newcastle takeover by Saudi-consortium completed.

Other aspects are more troubling, such as Jonas Gutierrez's disability discrimination claim, so poorly was he treated by the club after suffering from testicular cancer. Some of it requires no elaboration, such as the renaming of St James' Park as the Sports Direct Arena. They could write books about Newcastle's public relations skills or lack thereof. It was petty and it was typical, turning what should have been an easy win into a touchstone for discontent.

The club bar was renamed Nine Bar with Shearer's name expunged from history.

In the aftermath, Keegan successfully sued for constructive dismissal. Image: Alan Shearer could not prevent Newcastle from being relegated in 2009

Moonrise by Mike Ashley