In 2007 Mike Ashley purchased Newcastle United. As has been widely reported it is believed that his intention was to perform a 'flip' with another buyer lined up to make him a decent profit. This deal never came off. 7 years later and here we are. What started as hope for many newcastle fans has turned into despair. We saw a club legend in Kevin Keegan return to the club, he resigned soon after before winning a court case and damages. From Keegan's resignation many fans original optimism was shattered, and things have gone from bad to worse since, joe kinnear has been appointed as manager and director of football, Chris Hughton was sacked, Alan Shearer was led to believe he would become newcastle manager then never contacted again, our stadium name was changed, our best players sold, nust was banned along with the local press, the list goes on. One of the hardest things to understand is the policy of the club being self sufficient, in the modern era with all the debt in football this is a good thing to try to achieve, the problem is we aren't given a fair chance, our commercial revenue has nearly halved in the time Mr Ashley has owned the club, for a man who built an empire in retail this can only be described as unacceptable. The advertising at our stadium displaying the brand 'sports direct' has been confirmed by club liaison officers as being free of charge. Mike Ashley is not the sole owner of this company so other shareholders with no connection to Newcastle United profit from our club. We cannot expect to compete and be a self sufficient business while giving money away to other companies. We respect you are a proud businessman who does not want to lose money on the sale of newcastle united but we to are proud supporters who don't want to lose our club. All those who wish to sign this petition do so with the belief that Mike Ashley should now make a genuine attempt to sell Newcastle United.