Dennis Wise opens up now on his time at Newcastle United with Mike Ashley

Dennis Wise has now opened up about his time at Newcastle United, when his mate Mike Ashley employed him.

It is coming up to exactly 18 years since that appointment happened.

Dennis Wise appointed by Mike Ashley on 29 January 2008 as the Newcastle United Executive Director, with his remit claimed to be as ‘An advisor to the board on footballing matters.’

Only 13 days earlier, Kevin Keegan had been persuaded by Mike Ashley to come back and rescue Newcastle United for a third time, following the sacking of Sam Allardyce.

What then transpired was the most disgraceful episode under Mike Ashley at St James’ Park, along with the way he behaved towards Jonas Gutierrez after he was diagnosed with cancer.

Mike Ashley actually arranged for Newcastle United to pay compensation so he could employ Dennis Wise as his shameless assistant. Quite stunning, right up there alongside paying Sheffield Wednesday millions to get Steve Bruce to St James’ Park in 2019.

Newcastle United paying substantial money to Leeds United in January 2008, at the time Dennis Wise was the manager at a then third tier Leeds.

Dennis Wise now talking about that moment in an interview with Coaches Voices: “When a fee was paid for me to go to Newcastle in an executive role. That was a big mistake on my part. I should have carried on and finished what I had started at Leeds. I don’t have many regrets, but I do have disappointments, and that is one of them.”

The return of Kevin Keegan had been met with elation from Newcastle United fans.

Fair to say that the appointment of Dennis Wise provoked quite the opposite, Wise for sure the most hated former player in the eyes of most United supporters.

Dennis Wise remembering his time at St James’ Park:  “Newcastle turned out to be a difficult period, although it was a good learning curve. At Swindon and Leeds I had learned to do deals within a financially sustainable structure. At Newcastle I ended up doing a lot, from top to bottom, also within a structure. It is good to learn to work within the capabilities of what is coming in to a club. At Newcastle I structured it in a way that was within the club’s means, and I believe Mike Ashley stayed within that structure – or wasn’t far off of it.”

If Dennis Wise was hated by Newcastle United fans from his playing days, fair to say that was totally overshadowed by what his time at SJP working for his mate Mike Ashley prompted.

Dennis Wise claiming this was what transpired back then…“There were some good decisions, but there were some bad ones as well. The fact that we weren’t collectively together was the main problem. The whole of a football club has to be collectively moving in the right direction, with no leakages. When I walked into the other clubs, I had been able to take total control of everything. But when you work with bigger personalities that want to have a bigger say in certain things, it doesn’t always work logistically.”

Dennis Wise of course missing out a few ‘quite’ important details of this disgraceful episode in Newcastle United’s history.

Kevin Keegan forced out of the club my the actions of Mike Ashley, Dennis Wise and other horrendous people who had got involved at NUFC.

Kevin Keegan later winning his case for constructive dismissal and Mike Ashley forced to pay him millions, as it all came out, what had actually happened.

Mike Ashley assuring Kevin Keegan when he convinced him to take the job on 16 January 2008, that he would have the final say on all major transfers in and out of Newcastle United.

However, we then later all found out, that Mike Ashley instead had no intention of that being the case, that it would be his trusted mate Dennis Wise who was above Kevin Keegan when it came to making the big decisions.

The actions of Mike Ashley and his inner circle who he had running Newcastle United, especially Dennis Wise (who left NUFC in April 2009), ensured that the club were relegated in only the second season of Ashley’s ownership and United fans now realising just what type of owner NUFC now had.

After Ashley, Wise and others forced Kevin Keegan out of the club in September 2008, the Newcastle United fans unleashed their fury.

To calm them down, Mike Ashley promised them he would sell the club as soon as possible, the fans could stop their protests.

Those promises proving to be on the same level as the ones made to Kevin Keegan by Mike Ashley.

Mike Ashley pretending that he was trying to sell the club for more than a decade, a period of time when the majority of other major clubs were sold to new owners, some more than once. Mike Ashley only agreeing to sell and give up his huge Sports Direct free advertising platform, when he was forced to give away 10,000+ free season tickets with so many Newcastle United season ticket holders boycotting when he forced Rafa Benitez out and countless NUFC supporters said no more.