Smith, who managed Newcastle from 1988-91, had a tough time at Newcastle following the play-off defeat to the Mackems.
Jim Smith: "It originally happened and the guy went in with all of that money and we all thought 'this is it, this is a tremendous opportunity for Newcastle to hit the big time'.
"They are a big-time club and they're a fantastic team with fantastic support.
"But obviously he went in there with no plan, no professionalism and it's gone downhill ever since. It's a crime.
"Hopefully the right owners can come in and sort it out because everybody knows Newcastle should be in the Premier League and challenging for honours."