Newcastle Fans Slam Mike Ashley for £90m Department Store Purchase Despite Slow Transfer Window

It has been a torrid time for Newcastle United fans of late, watching on as almost all of their rivals strengthen - in some cases quite considerably - ahead of the return of the Premier League this weekend. 

Prior to what was already expected to be a difficult summer for the Toon and Rafa Benitez, owner Mike Ashley insisted that he would reinvest "every last penny" the club generated back into the Tynesiders in the hope of escaping another relegation fight this time around. 

As it was, however, during the recently concluded transfer window the north east outfit outspent only Crystal Palace, who snapped up some impressive players on free transfers and loans, and Tottenham Hotspur - who did not see one player join the club over the summer. 

There could have been an argument made that the business tycoon had stuck to his word had their net spend not been -28.7m - substantially lower than any other club in England's top flight. 

And to make matters worse, amid recent reports Ashley's profits with Sports Direct had recently taken a dip, on Friday, the Londoner was able to complete the purchase of struggling retailer House of Fraser for £90m - a fee higher than the transfer funds he has provided for Newcastle in the past three years. 

Understandably, this has caused quite a sizeable amount of unrest within the Geordies and wider football community, and they took to Twitter to vent their frustrations. 

Here are some of the best tweets.