Newcastle United fans in China join ‘Ashley Out’ calls at Premier League Asia Trophy loss to Wolves
- Supporters also sceptical of China tour shirt sponsors Direct Sports’ similarities to owner’s Sports Direct business
- New boss Steve Bruce appointed on same day side lose 4-0 to Wolves in preseason opener
The teams met in Nanjing and it did not go well for Toon fans with the side 1-0 down after 15 minutes before going on to lose 4-0.
Diogo Jota scored twice before Morgan Gibbs-White scored his first goal for his hometown club to put Wolves 3-0 up at half-time.
A second-half own goal from Thomas Allen sealed the humiliation.
“Ashley Out” was the call from fans in the stands and one group of fans also had placards carrying the same message.
Others held up banners that asked for the chairman to leave in less uncertain terms.
The fans were a mixture of locals and those who had travelled, but the sentiment was shared.
It echoed protests in Newcastle city centre, where fans called for Ashley to leave and expressed their dismay that the club had hired Steve Bruce to replace Rafa Benitez as manager.
Fans on social media were already calling for Bruce to leave within an hour of his appointment, with the “Bruce Out” hashtag trending on Twitter.
Benitez is now manager at Chinese Super League side Dalian Yifang and guided them to wins in his first two games. The former Real Madrid and Liverpool boss took a swipe at Ashley in his first blog entry since arriving in China.
The beleaguered chairman also came under fire for the shirt sponsor that Newcastle United wore for their China tour.
The club announced it as a partnership with Chinese sports app Direct Sports but cynical fans called foul on this.
They highlighted the red and blue colouring along with the similarity in name to Ashley’s Sports Direct chain of stores, claiming he was using the club to advertise his other businesses.
Ashley changed the name of the club’s St James’ Park Stadium to the Sports Direct Arena in 2011 in a move that was unpopular with fans. It changed back in 2012.
Meanwhile, Bruce’s former club, Championship side Sheffield Wednesday, have threatened Newcastle United with legal action after the former Manchester United and Norwich City defender left Hillsborough for his boyhood club.
The new Newcastle boss will fly to Shanghai for the team’s last PL Asia Trophy game on Saturday.
They will meet West Ham United in the third-place play-off after the Hammers were beaten by English Premier League champions Manchester City.
Mark Noble had put Manuel Pellegrini’s side ahead before Pep Guardiola’s team turned on the style. The champions, who are going for a third Premier League title in a row this season, looked unaffected by a two-day delay in their arrival in China.
City and Wolves meet in the Asia Trophy final at Shanghai’s Hongkou Stadium after the third-place play-off.
