I'm so happy that Shearer is wise off the pitch as he was on it. Makes me love him even more.
Shearer, Newcastle's all-time leading goalscorer, has been a vocal critic of Ashley since leaving the club for a second time after a brief spell as caretaker manager in 2009.
And the Match of the Day pundit has put the boot into Ashley – and former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan – in his column in The Sun.
"I could not help but celebrate the news last week that Mike Ashley officially wants out of Newcastle United," wrote Shearer. "He has held Newcastle back for too long."
Jordan, meanwhile, made some astonishing claims about United – and the club's fans – on Sky Sports last week.
"Ashley has gone in there and he was never going to be accepted because he was a southerner," said Jordan, who bought Palace in 2000 and ran it for a decade before the club went into administration.
Shearer, however, has questioned that statement in his latest column.
"Simon Jordan spouted absolute nonsense that Ashley was never going to be accepted at the club because he was a southerner," he wrote.
"What? It didn’t seem to hold back the affection the fans at St James’s Park had for Rob Lee or Les Ferdinand.
"The reason Ashley has been disliked during his 10-year tenure is because he has not invested enough to realise the club’s potential."
Shearer added: "Trying to change the name of the ground, plus his poor treatment of certain managers – which he admitted in a recent Sky interview – have not helped either."
I'm so happy that Shearer is wise off the pitch as he was on it. Makes me love him even more.
Jordan is clueless,Supermac was a southerner and was loved by toon supporters,he still lives on Tyneside.
If the fans hated southerners then he would have been hated when he first took over.
He was actually embraced until it all went pear shaped.
It's a bit silly to say it's southerners and what not.
It's always been about north and south in terms of banter and certain individuals/groups will always come under any spotlight from both ends, but the reality is, like Shearer mentions, is in the fact that Ashley hasn't put the right people and right mindset into giving the club a chance to realise some potential after steadying the ship.
He made a lot of mistakes in-between the good he done and he and us are/have paying/paid the price for it.
Time for a new chapter with, hopefully a happy ending to it.