While billionaire owner Mike Ashley is keen to get Newcastle United on an even keel, there might be more in the kitty than thought.

First there was confirmation on Monday of a £9.5m bid for Deportivo La Coruna defender Fabricio Coloccini, with few having thought Kevin Keegan had that kind of money to spend.

And 48 hours later Keegan and his team boarded a specially-chartered flight to Palma for Newcastle's Mallorca, where a five-star castle retreat was waiting for them, for the Summer Cup games.

Given Ashley's keenness to cut costs, you might have thought Keegan and his players would be flying with budget carrier Easyjet.

If they had, it wouldn't have been the first time.

In September 2005, then manager Graeme Souness and his players flew to Spain to take on Malaga in a friendly during an international break.

The day after the 2-0 defeat at the Rosaleda Stadium, which incidentally saw first-team coach Dean Saunders make his one and only United appearance, I boarded my Easyjet flight back to Newcastle, and I was stunned to see Souness and his squad at the back of the packed 737.

About the only spare seat was next to Scott Parker, and after struggling up the aisle with my laptop and several bags of duty free, I sat down next to the club's new signing.

The clean-living midfielder didn't seem too impressed, as my shopping bags were filled with cigarettes and alcohol.

After asking to borrow the mens' mag I'd bought at the airport, he promptly put on his iPod and didn't say a word more on the three-hour flight home.

They say first impressions last...


AMONG the gleaming yachts moored in Palma is the £100m Amevi.

It is owned by a British billionaire – but it isn't Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley.

The Amevi belongs to steel tycoon Laksmi Mittal, and loaned to the President of Kazakhstan for his visit to Spain.

In fact, I don't even know if Ashley – who could afford a superyacht of his own – owns a boat of any description.

Ashley – largely reclusive until he bought United a year ago – isn't into ostentatious shows of wealth, unlike a number of other football club owners.

When you have Mittal's money, however, it must be difficult not to think big, and the Amevi is certainly that, at 262ft in length.

With an estimated £27.7bn fortune, he's Britain's richest man according to this year's Sunday Times Rich List.

The £1.4bn Ashley has to his name, however, doesn't even get him into the top 10.