Should Keegan not pack his bags just yet?

You’ve got to hand it to Mike Ashley - he’s not a man to let the chaos at his football club, the disintegration of his reputation or the rising anger of the people of Newcastle (quite a scary looking bunch, judging by the parade of shaven-headed middle-aged men with earrings that Sky Sports News kept interviewing during the week) get in the way of a good time.

According to this morning’s Sun, while Kevin Keegan was last week wondering how he ever managed to get himself tangled up with Dennis Wise, Ashley was in a New York nightclub showing off his money in his now-familiar “have a drink” style. The paper claims he dropped £125,000 on champagne, much of which, judging by the photos, was sprayed in the faces of attractive women. At least Ashley broke with one of his trademark habits and left the Newcastle top in his luggage.

Meanwhile, the papers are also reporting that a very, very rich man, one Anil Ambani, is sniffing around Newcastle again. Mr Ambani (click here if you want to know more about him) is perhaps under the impression that Mr Ashley will be eager to get rid of the Magpies now that the chances of his ever again attending a game without taking a punch to the face seem slim.

Mr Ambani even declared a willingness to consider taking Kevin Keegan back as manager, although if he stumbles across other reports elsewhere in the press today that the three players Keegan wanted to buy were Frank Lampard, Thierry Henry and David Beckham, he might find himself experiencing a sensation rarely felt these days - sympathy with Mr Ashley.