Mike Ashley meeting Newcastle United Supporters' Trust (NUST) representatives for a pint was 'talked about' before the country went into lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to trust chair Alex Hurst.
Ashley was often spotted mingling with supporters in his replica Newcastle shirt when he first bought the club, but the billionaire's relationship with fans has changed dramatically following a spate of ill-advised decisions over the last 13 years.
The Sports Direct magnate has agreed to sell up to a consortium made up of Amanda Staveley, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and the Reuben Brothers and the prospective takeover is now in the hands of the Premier League, who are carrying out their owners' and directors' test.
Hurst was invited on to the Guardian's Football Weekly Extra podcast this week to discuss this and was also asked by host Max Rushden how much dialogue the NUST have had with Ashley during his time in charge.
"Depressingly little dialogue. Frustratingly little dialogue," he said. "Funnily enough, I might get bitten on the a*** for this one, but they have talked about us meeting Mike Ashley in May this year before coronavirus kicked off so we thought we were making some kind of progress there.
"It was going to be an informal meeting that involved beer, because that's how Mike likes it apparently, but sadly that might never happen now.
"It's been really tough and a lot of decisions Newcastle United seemed to have made - not just in the last 12 months but before that - seemed to have been almost deliberately antagonistic towards the fan base, which is a strange thing to do as a football club but that's where we found ourselves unfortunately."
