Kieran Maguire slams Ashley’s ‘contempt for fans’ after Newcastle finance update
Mike Ashley has extended the Newcastle United accounting date – and this is “further evidence of his contempt” for the fans.
That is according to finance guru and Football Insider columnist Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively after Newcastle posted a Companies House update on 28th June.
The parameters of their annual report will now cover the period up to the 31st July 2020 rather than 30th June as originally billed.
As revealed by this site on 3rd June, Newcastle are privately confident a PiF-backed takeover can be completed once Ashley’s arbitration proceedings are complete later this month.
Maguire claimed that there are some merits to extending the accounting date but that the retail tycoon’s decision proves disregard for the supporters.
He told Football Insider correspondent Adam Williams: “If you take a look at the Premier League for 2019-20, the final matches didn’t take place until July.
“So there is a very logical case for extending your financial year until the end of July because that allows you to include your broadcast and commercial revenue for the whole season.
“So there is some merit in taking that approach. I think what people are concerned about is that, under normal circumstances, you’ve got nine months to submit your accounts. But Rishi Sunak extended this by three months.
“So we were looking for Newcastle’s financial results to have been published by 1st July.
“They are the only Premier League club not to publish their results. Mike Ashley has a habit of dragging his heels when it comes to being transparent and communicating the details of the club’s finances to fans.
“I think the accounts will look better and I can see the value in extending the year-end date.
“But if he’s going to use that as an excuse to delay publishing the accounts, I don’t think that’s good. It’s further evidence of his contempt for the fanbase.“
In other news, Newcastle United readying bid for Wolves defender.