Magpies off the Market!

Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has shocked the English Footballing world this morning by announcing that the North East club are no longer up for sale. After nearly being quite literally chased out of town by angry Magpies supporters following his well publiscised spat with fans favorite Kevin Keegan back in September, the billionaire sportswear tycoon has suddenly claimed he is now fully committed to the long term future of Newcastle United. However, as the more cynical football writers amongst us may doubtlessly point out, perhaps a more likely reason Ashley is set to stay at the helm is that no one actually wanted to buy a football club that in spite of its massive support are still threatened by the realistic possibility of relegation from England's top flight this season. A particular worry for any potential investor is that star striker Michael Owen may well be set to leave in the summer for free regardless of the outcome of Newcastle's flagging season, having rejected the offer of a new contract earlier this month. So what do the Newcastle fans make of all this? No doubt there will be a great deal of banter in the pubs around St James' Park in the run up to todays high profile fixture with Premier League leaders Liverpool. Have your say on the Ashley affair here!