Alan Shearer's impassioned response shows just how foolish Mike Ashley really was at Newcastle

Alan Shearer is excited about what it is to come at Newcastle United because the city needs a 'thriving football club' after years of 'no hope' under Mike Ashley.

The club's new owners are close to achieving their first goal of this new era - to stay up - after Newcastle moved 10 points clear of the relegation zone following a 1-0 win against Wolves last week. It was another sell-out at St James' Park and the joyous scenes at full-time served as a real contrast to the helpless feeling in the air following the reverse fixture at Molineux last October, which proved to the be the final game of the Ashley era.

Wor Flags, who returned to St James' after Ashley sold the club last October, created another special display both before and after the game as thousands of flags were waved by supporters in all four corners of the stadium. Mehrdad Ghodoussi, who met representatives from the Newcastle United Supporters' Trust (NUST) with Amanda Staveley earlier that day, even got involved in the directors' box.

Ashley may have briefly stood amongst supporters in his early days at the club, but the Newcastle owner never realised just what a force a united and engaged fanbase could be. Is it any wonder, then, that Shearer, who briefly managed Newcastle under Ashley, described the whole football club 'as chalk and cheese to what it was?'

"Yes, absolutely," Shearer told Premier League Productions when he was asked if he was excited about what was to come. "They were 14 long, hard, tough years. Tough to take, no real desire other than to survive, no runs in the cups, going out of the cup competitions very early, no hope.

"Newcastle is not that. Newcastle needs a thriving football club because Newcastle United is in the middle of the