The problem Ashley has, and it's the same one Short had, is that to realize the value of a club you have to run it well, along sound commercial lines, and not get relegated from the top flight. We were in the Prem for ten years during which the club was a ****ing omnishambles. Why would anyone buy it when relegation was a perennial threat to your investment? Ashley's in that boat now. The mags are a few bad results away from the relegation zone and who's going pay the 400 million quid Ashley wants in those circumstances??
Aye it seemed to me that when the potential takeover was announced results went down the toilet which can't have helped. Perhaps if they'd gone up the table instead then they'd have been appealing enough for the buyers to meet Ashley's demands.
I suppose that's what you get with a poor team and a bottler for a manager.