Yap: Ashley has set Newcastle free

The Magpies are unbeaten in the league and have the meanest defence, conceding just seven goals after ten games. 

Not even the most one-eyed Geordies' fan could have envisaged the club's stunning start to the season - ten games in and they occupy third spot; a mere point behind Manchester United and six off pace-setters City.

And yet, here we are. 

To be fair, even Alan Pardew has had a hard time believing it. When his side were fourth in late September after seven games, he said - only half-jokingly: "it won't last".

After a dominant 3-1 victory against Stoke at the Britannia Stadium, a ground where Chelsea and Manchester United could only manage a draw, where Liverpool stumbled to a loss, Pardew has had to eat his words. Not that he'll be complaining.

Newcastle United seem to have turned back the clock to the 1990s, when they were playing swashbuckling football and regularly challenging for the title with David Ginola and Alan Shearer in the side.

A lot of credit must be given to Pardew. He made a couple of very shrewd signings in the transfer windows in Yohan Cabaye and Demba Ba to replace the loss of Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll.

However, even more credit must be given to owner Mike Ashley for simply not doing anything at all.

Pardew said in the same interview back in September: "I know it's probably not too good for reporters, as you haven't got any bombs going off. But I'm sure there will be at some point."

And he has a point, given Ashley's horrific track record of faux pas.

Ashley hired Kevin Keegan after buying over the club in 2008 and ended up undermining the Newcastle legend's authority at every turn by attempting to play out a real-life version of Football Manager at the club with a real football manager at the helm.

He then sprung a rude surprise by hiring Joe Kinnear, whose first act was to generate the headline "Newcastle manager swears live on BBC one day after appointment" in an attempt to defend the club owner.

The said owner then failed to generate headlines months later by hiring Alan Shearer on 1st April after Kinnear had to quit due to health reasons. 

I kid you not. Half the news agencies around the world did not carry the story after wondering whether it was an April Fools' Day prank or an actual appointment move. 

Ashley then realised he had offended half of Tyneside and attempted to sell the club for ‘the sake of his own family's health' but failed to do so after setting an exorbitant price on the shares.

We thought we would see the last of his antics after Newcastle dropped to the Championship but after regaining Premier League status with new coach Chris Hughton, Ashley promptly sacked him, citing a need for a ‘more experienced man to do the job'.

It's no surprise people expect Newcastle to flop season after season. 

Owners are supposed to manage the non-football aspect of the club and let the manager concentrate on the football, not act like a fan acting out his crazy football fantasies.

After the loss of Jose Enrique and Andy Carroll to Liverpool and captain Kevin Nolan to Championship side West Ham, football naysayers sharpened their pens and stocked up on puns in anticipation of yet another crash and burn episode on Tyneside, but it hasn't happened.

Better Newcastle sides have imploded before (cue Keegan's "I'll love it" speech), but this one has not. Not yet at least.

There are many reasons for Newcastle's lofty perch 10 games into the season, and the biggest one will be Ashley's sudden sensibility.

The current Ashley is a complete opposite of the one back in 2008; this one chose to keep his faith with Alan Pardew despite a 12th place finish last season and kept his comments to himself with a quarter of the season gone.

But then again, the season is only ten games young and we'll know better after Newcastle face Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea in a demanding three-week stretch.

Here's hoping Ashley keeps the tin-foil hat away from his head and lets Pardew do what he's been doing so brilliantly this season. Winning games.