Newcastle United are currently sitting above the Premier League’s relegation zone under the ownership of Mike Ashley.
Andy Cole has claimed that Newcastle United are a ‘sinking ship’ under Mike Ashley and he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of them getting relegated this season.
The Magpies were knocked out of the FA Cup over the weekend when fellow Premier League side Watford inflicted a 2-0 defeat on them at St James’ Park.
Added with that, they are yet to sign a single player during this transfer window and are currently sitting one place above the relegation zone.
Following that defeat against the Hornets, former striker Cole provided a damning assessment of the current problems in the northeast under the ownership of the highly controversial Ashley.
“I think crazy is an understatement,” Cole told BBC One’s Final Score programme on 26/01/2019. “It’s going nowhere fast. For me, at the moment it seems like it’s a sinking ship.
“Unless someone comes in and buys the club off Mike Ashley that club is going to sink very, very quickly.
“How many times have you heard that in football? ‘You’re too good to go down. Anything is possible. They need to get results, they need to play better than they have done [against Watford]. They have got to get their mojo back.”
Under Ashley’s tenure, Newcastle have been relegated on two occasions but they have bounced back straight away, most recently during the 2016/17 season.
At this moment in time, they could potentially find themselves dropping down to the second tier of English football for a third time under Ashley’s tenure.
The positive for the club in recent weeks has been their valuable 3-0 win over Cardiff City in their last league match, which pushed the Welsh club into the relegation zone.
Now, Benitez and his team will be preparing for a home clash against high-flying Manchester City, who will be hoping to close the gap on leaders Liverpool in the title race.
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