‘Textbook Bad Owner’, ‘A Complete Parasite’… and Maybe The Perfect Appointment for this Struggling EFL Club

Sheffield Saviour: Would Mike Ashley Be A Good Choice to Take Over At Hillsborough?

It will be no surprise to anyone reading when I tell you that former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley is an unpopular figure within the footballing sphere.

Seen as an overly controlling presence at the Magpies, he was criticised for his attempts to make running a football club as budget-friendly as possible, while frequently showing himself to be above the opinion of Newcastle fans, often ignoring fan culture and doing the opposite of what the club was crying out for.

IMO, if it's true that Mike Ashley is now the front runner for the club, i think a deal will be completed by the end of March. He knows what he is doing, has worked with the EFL (football in general) before & knows the issues with the club #swfc

— The Daily Wednesday (@TDWednesday) February 27, 2026

However, for Sheffield Wednesday, desperate times call for desperate measures, and with Ashley in the running to take ownership of the already relegated Championship, there are an increasing number of football fans who are starting to think, “You know what, he could actually do a job there.”

Though nothing is confirmed yet, and in reality, all that is linking him to the Owls' ownership is the rumour mill, let’s have a discussion: why would Mike Ashley be a good choice to take over at Sheffield Wednesday?

What Ashley Would Need to Change From Previous Ownerships

Ashley was disliked for a plethora of things during his time at St James’ Park, but broadly, it comes down to four distinct reasons:

• Commercialisation that disrespected tradition

This one got ugly. Though there are a number of examples, none was more unpopular than his decision to rename St James’ Park to the Sports Direct Arena, conveniently named after the company that Ashley owns.

Naturally, there was uproar amongst the fans, but it didn’t do any good – Ashley kept the name for the next two years, until Wonga became Newcastle’s chief commercial sponsor in a deal that included buying the name rights. Wonga would subsequently go down in Newcastle history, as part of the deal meant that the stadium would be renamed St James’ Park. At least on this occasion, Ashley had been thwarted.

• Repeated Unpopular Football Decisions

This was Ashley’s wheelhouse – poor footballing decisions seemed to come out of his office every other day, with Alan Pardew’s EIGHT-year contract and the club's treatment of Premier League record goalscorer Alan Shearer prime examples.

However, none trump the release of former Champions League and Europa League winner Rafael Benitez, who was a verified god on Tyneside during his spell up north. Working miracles with the squad, there was total bafflement when Ashley released a statement that Benitez would be leaving the club at the end of his contract in the summer of 2019.

Mike Ashley does not deserve this man. pic.twitter.com/ge2iSfO8Tj

— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Footballtweet) January 29, 2019

The following year, Benitez would say in an interview that he did not believe Ashley “really cared about his team”. Going off what we have seen so far, it’s hard to argue.

• Labour Controversies

It's not just Newcastle fans who have picked up on Ashley’s unpopular practices; the UK government got involved in 2016 when reports emerged of Sports Direct employees “not being treated as human beings.”

Allegedly, the company’s working practices “were closer to a Victorian workhouse than that of a modern, reputable high street reseller.” Ashley was, of course, held accountable by the government, and Newcastle fans naturally leapt at the news, relishing the chance to berate him in the hope it would get him gone from his role at Newcastle.

Needless to say, he didn’t leave, and the combination of his stubbornness and apparent lack of concern with legal working restrictions only made him more unpopular among the St James’ masses.

• Financially Conservative

This really was the main sticking point in the poor relationship between Ashley and Newcastle fans. Ashley was never willing to spend more than he felt comfortable with, which, more often than not, amounted to little more than a few million, severely limiting what the club could do in the transfer window.

Fans felt he was being something of a cheapskate, with his restrained approach to spending preventing progress and, at times, even seeing the club regress, such as in the wake of their surprise relegation in 2016.

Mike Ashley bought the 5th best club in the PL era, then relegated it. Twice. #nufc https://t.co/LW4qpxNCUu pic.twitter.com/fo4TrXdppm

— 𝑅𝐸𝐺𝐼𝑆𝑇𝐴 (@Regista10_) February 17, 2026

So as you can see, Newcastle fans had more than enough reason to dislike their former owner, and Sheffield Wednesday followers would do well to be wary of him, as if he brings any of these traits to the club, things could go from bad to worse.

However, there are certainly significant pros to Ashley taking over at Hillsborough.

Why An Ashley Takeover Would Be a Good Thing

Though Ashley’s ownership of Sports Direct and subsequent commercialisation of his pet project was exactly what alienated him from his fans on Tyneside, it could be exactly what the doctor ordered for the financially floundering Owls.

Ashley has both the capital and the precedent for buying clubs and stadium assets quickly, allowing him to stabilise cash flow, thanks to the short takeover process.

Here is where his business ventures come in – Ashley's company ownership can bring reinvestment back to the club, with him potentially being able to negotiate sponsorships with himself in a bid to secure a consistent source of income.

There is the danger that this could shift from reinvestment to simply taking advantage of a football club, just like he did at Newcastle, but for the first few years at least, Sheffield Wednesday fans won’t mind a jot, as long as their club is on an upward trend.

Ashley also has an excellent track record of restructuring businesses and negotiating real estate deals quickly. In Sheffield Wednesday’s case, business restructuring would take the form of a Hillsborough redevelopment, an investment the club has been crying out for for years on end.

The amount of fans against Mike Ashley. He’s a savvy self made billionaire. Who is pretty much certain to make us significantly better. It would be the best thing to happen to us in forever! #swfc

— Jonathan Daley (@JonathanDaley) February 27, 2026

This in turn would lead to increased and improved commercial deals, diversifying the clubs' income and further stabilising their currently dire financial situation. His documented willingness to make hard short-term influenced choices also won’t hurt – it is that type of ruthless decision-making that he has become renowned for, and in this scenario, it may actually help.

However, Ashley needs to do a number of things before he can even get the club back on the right track. Firstly, if he does indeed take over, he will need to quickly and honestly pay off the club administration debts in order to avoid a hefty points penalty and accompanying fine. If he fails to do this, and the club is indeed punished, it would undermine Ashley’s attempt at rescue, instead putting them in a worse situation than they were in in the first place.

Even if he does manage to pay off the club's debt correctly, his history as a club owner then comes into play – considered untrustworthy and ultimately a businessman over a club owner, Ashley will need to build trust with the fans, and not just through his words.

He’ll need to actually produce tangible results, developments such as a Hillsborough investment, the creation of community programmes and so on and so forth.

Most importantly, he must adhere to the club's rich history and not walk all over it as he did at Newcastle. This means no unnecessary stadium renaming and setting reinvestment targets for the club so as to move away from his prior image of using football clubs as cash cows.

Nonetheless, Ashley has capital, and capital is number one on Wednesday’s agenda. Of course, there are better people to have at the top of the order at your club.

However, as a businessman, Ashley is the perfect man. If anyone is to turn the drowning business that is Sheffield Wednesday around, Ashley is the man. Watch this space closely, as an announcement of the new owner feels close.