article: Earlier this month the tracksuit tycoon Mike Ashley agreed to buy a plot of land in Chelsea from the retailer John Lewis for somewhere in the region of £200million. The Clearings has been primed for redevelopment, with planning permission for 62 luxury flats, seven townhouses and an agreement to relocate Marlborough Primary School as part of the project. In five years, when the operation to build the properties is concluded and they have been sold to high-end buyers, Ashley will add something in the region of another £1bn to his net worth. There have been empty seats at St James' Park recently as fans let their feelings about Mike Ashley be known . The weekend defeat by Swansea was a seventh straight Premier League loss for the Magpies . Toon keeper Tim Krul had to pick the ball out of his net three times against Swansea . Ashley looks after the money, obsessing over the finances at his business empire, which includes SportsDirect, Tesco and his football club in the north east. Last year his group made more than £500m. In return, he expects his employees, across the board, to deliver. The biggest motivation in Ashley’s life is to make money, something reflected in Newcastle United’s latest accounts, which are showing another decent profit and £34m in the bank. The money men at Newcastle are already aware that the team could play in an empty stadium when the new television deals crystallise at the start of the 2016-17 season and still turn a profit based on current income and expenditure. It feels like it could come to that as Newcastle’s disaffected supporters wonder where to take their grievances to next. Ashley, the club’s owner, does not appear to be listening. He is not a football man, certainly not in the same way as the increasing number of disillusioned supporters at St James’ Park. After seven straight defeats in the Barclays Premier League under their interim coach John Carver, they have every right to fear for the future. All is not well. It does not help that Ashley has taken a neanderthal approach to negative criticism, frequently banning journalists from St James’ because they have gone into bat on behalf of the team’s disaffected supporters. For such a successful businessman, Ashley’s sensitivity to criticism is undoubtedly one of his biggest weaknesses. Ashley (right) has never been Mr Popular at St James' Park but the protests have been ramped up recently . A fan appeared to have a go at interim manager John Carver during the latest loss at St James' Park . The view from the bench hasn't been pretty for Carver and the Newcastle staff during the last few weeks . He should address it because his ability to make money should be one of his most powerful weapons at Newcastle. In January, after a deal had been concluded to take Alan Pardew to Crystal Palace, the former Newcastle manager gave a momentary insight into the financial strategy at St James’ Park. ‘Newcastle is a big club, it’s difficult because it is run on an tight financial margin,’ admitted Pardew. ‘We had to work hard on transfers, the funds for a club that size makes it difficult to understand that we had to build slowly.’ So what is so wrong with that, especially when the owner of the club still has an interest-free loan of £129m marked in the latest Newcastle accounts? It is the job of Newcastle’s chief scout Graham Carr, along with his staff, to identify and recruit the players who can improve this team. Talent identification is not Ashley’s area of expertise and he has always made it clear that it is the responsibility of his scouting department to improve the squad. The natural conclusion when clubs sell their best players, as Newcastle did when Yohan Cabaye moved to Paris Saint-Germain in January 2014 and Mathieu Debuchy left for Arsenal last summer, is to lose momentum. It always feels like a lack of ambition. Then there are teams such as Southampton, who sold four of their best players last summer - Dejan Lovren, Adam Lallana, Calum Chambers and Luke Shaw - for £88m after finishing eighth in the Premier League. Newcastle fans held a protest urging fellow supporters to 'show Ashley the red card' They responded by recruiting Dusan Tadic, Graziano Pelle, Fraser Forster, Florin Gardos, Shane Long and Sadio Mane for an outlay of around £56m. Under Ronald Koeman, who replaced Mauricio Pochettino last summer after he moved to Tottenham, Southampton could still qualify for the Europa League. They are a fine example to the teams outside the top four because Southampton (with an annual income of £90m), Swansea (£84m) and Newcastle (£110m) cannot compete on the same financial terms. Swansea, who beat Newcastle 3-2  last Saturday, have also had a recent change in management after promoting Garry Monk. He has had an outstanding year in charge. Toon fans held up the cards during the latest protest against owner Ashley . Even with the loss of Wilfried Bony, sold to Manchester City for £28m in January, they are on course for a top-eight finish because of their own financial prudence and some smart recruitment. Like Southampton, they are not living above their means, but their transfer policy is first class. They are being rewarded for that. Newcastle are currently 19th in the annual Deloitte report into football’s rich list, but they do not have the same financial muscle as Manchester United (£371m), Manchester City (£277m), Chelsea (£277m), Arsenal (£219m), Liverpool (£208m) and Tottenham (£153m). This summer Ashley will make some new signings, something they desperately need after a depressing end to the season at St James’ Park. Without them, the balance sheet will be the only winner.
highlights: Newcastle United have lost seven Premier League games in a row .
  Fans protested against Mike Ashley during the latest loss against Swansea .
  Ashley does not appear to be listening - he is not a football man .
  His biggest weapon is ability to make money - club has £34m in the bank .
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