James Mills is a web developer in the North East of England and founder of Refresh Teesside »
Mike Hughes is the Head of Business for the Evening Gazette. He will be blogging on all matters of importance to Teesside businesses - and some that are just worth knowing »
Jez Davison, business writer at the Evening Gazette, is a regular blogger on all things business - particularly finance, entrepreneurship and the state of the Teesside economy » 
Karen McLauchlan is the Evening Gazette's deputy business and features editor - with special interest in all things industry, property and arts related » 
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Deloitte, which has 23 offices across the UK including Newcastle, is among the country's leading professional services firms » 
ClimateNE & Climate Change Schools Project support the move to a low-carbon, resilient economy and help businesses avoid risk and realise commercial opportunities. Posts by Jen Atkinson, Krista McKinzey and Harriet Thew » THERE'S been a lot of guff written in the national press this week about why Newcastle United's downfall could be down to the fantastical ambitions of the club's fans.
First off - that's utter nonsense - Newcastle's huge support, alongside Sebastien Bassong perhaps, are its few valuable assets.
But away from the football side of things, lets just look at the complete business mis-management which has left a one-time Champions League club touching the void.
Of all the billionaires in all the world, why did he have to walk in to our town?
He came riding into town on a sea of optimism and ousted the Geordie dynasties which had controlled the club for so long.
But perhaps it was a case of better the devil you know than the one you don't.
His first mistake - buy a business without conducting due diligence and then bemoan the fact that it's riddled with debt.
Next, appoint a manager whose greatest strength is in the transfer market, and take away his power in the transfer market.
Also, knowing that that manager has a history of quitting if he doesn't get his own way, appoint a less experienced character above his head.
These are not footballing mistakes, these are the simple rules of recruitment when running a business, aren't they?
Ok, Mike Ashley + co clearly know a lot more than a lowly hack like me about running a business, but as any St James' season ticket holder has witnessed, there appears to have been mistake after mistake made in the back office on Barrack Road this season.
A lot of the chief executives I've interviewed talk at length about the need for transparency and open communication with their customers.
As far as I know, Mike Ashley voice has never been heard in any form of public broadcast, save for a 'no comment' muttering on Sky Sports News.
To be fair, Derek Llambias has not tried to hide, while the club's commercial director Barry Webber recently gave a very frank and open interview with the Journal.
But what would it have taken for Ashley to issue a "we're doing our best to turn things around" statement.
Then comes the January transfer window. And these are the options.
A) Strengthen a struggling team to guarantee its top flight status - probably at a cost of around ã10m to ã20m.
B) Sell the club's most valuable asset and make a quick profit, risking the club's relegation, which could wipe tens of millions off NUFC's value.
Ok, hindsight is a wonderful thing, but how could a team of executives who clearly have a lot of pedigree in different sectors get it so very, very wrong?
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