Simon Jordan believes some Derby County fans would welcome Mike Ashley's approach to running a football club if he were to purchase the Rams from administrators.
The businessman ended his 14-year tenure as Newcastle United owner this week as a Saudi Arabia-led takeover of the Magpies was concluded, netting Ashley £300 million.
Almost immediately after he departed the Premier League outfit, Ashley was linked to a swift takeover of County by the Daily Mirror, who were plunged into administration last month by owner Mel Morris.
Ashley has shown an interest according to their sources but Sky Sports' Rob Dorsett poured cold water on it for now, stating there had been no contact with the individuals tasked with finding the next owner of County.
He is likely to invest some of the money he has made from Newcastle's sale back into sports though although not necessarily in a football club, so everything is seemingly up in the air for now.
After hearing of the speculation linking Ashley to Pride Park, former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has suggested that Ashley's methods to running a club may be liked amongst the fanbase following Morris' reckless spending at the club.
“His crime at Newcastle was making it sustainable," Jordan said on talkSPORT about Ashley, via DerbyshireLive.
“His crime was to do something that the West Ham owners have done, which is get the team relegated, but to run the football club on a moderately sound financial footing.
“That is a crime in football speak and I know Newcastle fans will be aghast hearing that.
“That sort of approach might be celebrated in Derby now because they will say ‘Mel Morris ran it a different way’.
“He spent £200million quid of his own money, on top of whatever he may have purchased the club for, and got a situation where the club is in administration."
The Verdict
It's true that Morris spent a lot of money to get the Rams into trouble, but that doesn't necessarily mean Ashley would be a good owner for the club.
Newcastle never suffered financial hardship during his time as owner but fans felt there was a lack of investment at crucial times during his ownership.
Being at Derby would be a lot less pressure for Ashley as he would be getting them at a massive low and he'd be able to try and build them back up, but it's fair to say he now has a very negative persona due to how most Newcastle fans see him.
Jordan's comments probably won't go down well with Rams fans, who just want a trustworthy person to take charge and make them financially stable, but it may take months for that to come to fruition.