Cheer Up Kevin Keegan !!!!

[Elano]

BOOZE-SWILLING Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley broke off from his monster champagne binge to tell one shocked reveller: “We’ve had a tiff with Keegan — but it will all be sorted out.”

The billionaire soccer tycoon slurred his promise as he ran up a £125,000 bar bill with his chums — spraying expensive bubbly in all directions during a three-hour orgy of debauchery.

But within hours Toon manager Kevin Keegan had quit in disgust as the trouble-dogged Tyneside giants spiralled towards meltdown.

Ashley, 45, staged his bender at New York’s trendy Pink Elephant nightspot as officials at home held 11th-hour negotiations with disgruntled Keegan over his future as boss.

The owner and three other men, including one man named only as PK, downed an amazing 175 bottles of Cristal Champagne — the club’s entire stock.

They also necked 16 bottles of Dom Perignon, 29 of PJ Fleur Rose and three of Grey Goose Vodka.

Onlookers in the club on Wednesday night said Ashley was “slaughtered” and soaked from head to foot in Champagne as he sprayed £450 bottles of Cristal over his pals and handed out drinks and bottles to scantily-clad girls — getting some to pour booze into his mouth.

His antics will further infuriate horrified Newcastle fans who are calling for bosses to face the axe over the Keegan fiasco — and threatening to boycott their next home game.

The mammoth bar bill included a £30,000 tip to waitresses and a four-figure tip to security. Ashley started off by ordering ten bottles of Cristal. But as the booze flowed he ordered 100 MORE — at a cost of nearly £43,000.

One onlooker at the run-down looking club said: “Ashley was slaughtered — soaked from head to foot in Champagne and slurring his words.

“He kept spraying Champagne over himself and his friends, and he kept ordering more and more bottles of Cristal — handing them out randomly to his friends, girls standing nearby and nearby tables.

“When one clubber asked him, ‘Shouldn’t you be in Newcastle talking to Kevin Keegan?’ he slurred, ‘We’ve had a tiff with him, but it’ll all be sorted out.’”

The onlooker added: “It seemed a strange time to be out celebrating with his club in crisis — but Ashley was hellbent on having a wild time.

“He arrived at around midnight with a group of male and female pals and started ordering Cristal right next to the dancefloor. Before long he was out of control. The waitresses were amazed when he ordered 100 bottles of Cristal and proceeded to hand them out to clubbers and spray them over his friends.

“The whole club was abuzz over the ‘big-spending soccer guy’.

“He left just after three, staggering out with his arms around two much younger, pretty girls.”

A spokesman for the Pink Elephant confirmed Ashley was at the club on Wednesday. He said: “It was a great night. He spent a lot of money on Champagne.”

Sources close to Ashley said he took a private jet to New York on Wednesday as talks with ex-England boss Keegan were floundering. One friend said: “Mike was celebrating and pushing the boat out. There were a number of women at his table who were lapping it up and Mike loved being at the centre of it all.

“He was out to celebrate — and it can only have been to do with Keegan leaving Newcastle. You’d think he’d won the Lotto.”

Divorced dad-of-three Ashley, who has a £1.4billion fortune, built a sports retail business from nothing and paid £137million for The Magpies in May last year.

Big-spender Ashley likes to gamble too. In May he won £1.3million on a single spin of a roulette wheel at a London casino — staking £480,000 on lucky number 17.

But last year he was reported to have lost £129million on spread bets — the same years he scored £929million when he floated his Sports Direct retail chain.

He stayed in New York with Sir Alan Sugar’s pal Paul Kemsley before moving into a swish Manhattan hotel where he was holed up with friends yesterday.

Meanwhile Toon Army fans were preparing to miss the side’s game with Hull next weekend in protest at the departure of “King Kev”. They also called for the axeing of executive director Dennis Wise.

Craig Cowan, 28, from Blakelaw, said: “I’m gutted. Hopefully everyone will boycott the Hull game and get Ashley and Wise on their way.” Michael Brown, 20, from North Shields said: “We need Kevin Keegan back, simple as. Ashley and Wise should both go.”

The Sun’s Mysun internet forum was also deluged by angry fans.

One, posting under the name “jimbeam”, said: “I’m ashamed to be a Newcastle fan, the club is a disgrace.”

[KURUPTION-81]

well the club has now issued a staement saying they have not sacked keegan. if you ask me theyve turned about face hear and upon seeing the fans reaction they have pleaded for keegan to stay. my gut feeling is ashley wanted and wants wise to be the manger at newcastle, i heave no idea why because the newcastle fans cant stand the bloke. also youve got to remember wise was hired 2 weeks after keegan was as director of football, keegan was not made aware of this upon his own hiring and it has been a big elephant in the room since.

on a sidenote how do you think berabatov is going to fit in at united? i think what united need is an out and out goalscorer, to me his just another playmaker in the mold of rooney and tevez.

the way fergie has been talking lately has been all about how rooney will play off a main striker as in berbatov, so id assume he will be the focal point.

in all honesty though rooney doesnt deserve to be in the team over tevez who has been superior to rooney last season and so far this one also.

It would be nice to have an out and out striker but we did ok last year without one !