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Magpies stared into abyss - Ashley
Newcastle United, 10:46, August 13, 2008 ,
Newcastle owner Mike Ashley claims the club was in danger of being run into the ground before his takeover last year.
Ashley has been trying to secure new investment after buying the Magpies for around £130m and then ploughing £100m of his own cash into the business.
But he admits the swiftness with which the deal was done 12 months ago meant some of the club's financial problems were not fully known to him.
"Financially, Newcastle United was in a difficult position because I really do think that it had over-extended itself," Ashley told a club magazine.
"There is still £27m net to pay on transfers that were done before I came. So probably in the latter years before we came in you could argue that the club was beginning to lose its way.
"It had also already taken upfront payments from commercial deals and sponsorships which didn't help us at all. It seemed as though the club was in a very downward spiral, one it would have found very hard to come out of."