Newcastle United season ticket holder Alan McKenna used to get regular slaps on the back when team owner Mike Ashley was popular around town. The reason? McKenna and Ashley look uncannily similar. Now that Ashley is reviled by most fans following the departure of manager Kevin Keegan, things have turned a little nasty.
McKenna, a restaurant owner and a married father-of-two, has had to endure verbal abuse and the threat of violence from fellow fans who have mistaken him for Ashley. His dilemma hasn’t been helped by the fact that Ashley used to sit with fans during games while wearing a replica shirt to show that he was one of the people.
At last Saturday’s home game against Hull City, McKenna was accosted at St. James’ Park by another unhappy fan. “I went to the toilets,” McKenna told the paper, “and while I was in there a guy came up to me and said: ‘How did you get in here you sneaky fat b*****d?’ I can’t believe he called me that, I’m not even that fat! When he was popular, people would often come and pat me on the back if I was walking through Newcastle, telling me what a great job I was doing. But now the abuse has really started.”