Redknapp was at Portsmouth at the time and he suggested that he wouldn't join the Magpies because of the owner. His words "there is something sadly wrong at that club".
Was that a dig at Ashley? Or what else could be wrong at the club?
But today he says Ashley is "fantastic".
Harry Redknapp (talking to the Chronicle): “I don’t ever regret anything. I don’t look back and think like that. You keep looking forward and keep moving on.
“That was ages ago – way down the line. I took the Tottenham job after that and didn’t regret that, I had four fantastic years there.
“I don’t regret staying at Portsmouth instead of going to Newcastle, I absolutely loved it there.
“I think the chairman’s been fantastic there. He gets a lot of stick, Mike Ashley, but he’s always at games and follows the team.
“He’s stuck by Alan because he knows he’s got a good manager. It’s easy to have a knee-jerk reaction and bomb him out.
“They finished fifth the other year and were very unlucky not to finish in the Champions League places.
“Alan’s done a good job and he knows he’s got the backing of the chairman there.”
NUFC v QPR
2012/2013 Sun 12 May Q.P.R. 1 - 2 Newcastle Utd. Premier League
Sat 22 Dec Newcastle Utd. 1 - 0 Q.P.R. Premier League
2011/2012 Sun 15 Jan Newcastle Utd. 1 - 0 Q.P.R. Premier League
Mon 12 Sep Q.P.R. 0 - 0 Newcastle Utd. Premier League
2009/2010 Sun 02 May Q.P.R. 0 - 1 Newcastle Utd. Championship
Wed 30 Sep Newcastle Utd. 1 - 1 Q.P.R. Championship
1995/1996 Sat 06 Apr Newcastle Utd. 2 - 1 Q.P.R. Premiership
Sat 14 Oct Q.P.R. 2 - 3 Newcastle Utd. Premiership
1994/1995 Sat 04 Feb Q.P.R. 3 - 0 Newcastle Utd. Premiership
Sat 05 Nov Newcastle Utd. 2 - 1 Q.P.R. Premiership
1993/1994 Sun 16 Jan Q.P.R. 1 - 2 Newcastle Utd. Premiership
Sat 16 Oct Newcastle Utd. 1 - 2 Q.P.R. Premiership
1988/1989 Sat 11 Mar Newcastle Utd. 1 - 2 Q.P.R. First Division
Sat 05 Nov Q.P.R. 3 - 0 Newcastle Utd. First Division
1987/1988 Sat 09 Apr Newcastle Utd. 1 - 1 Q.P.R. First Division
Sat 21 Nov Q.P.R. 1 - 1 Newcastle Utd. First Division
1986/1987 Sat 14 Feb Q.P.R. 2 - 1 Newcastle Utd. First Division
Wed 03 Sep Newcastle Utd. 0 - 2 Q.P.R. First Division
1985/1986 Sat 18 Jan Q.P.R. 3 - 1 Newcastle Utd. First Division
Sat 31 Aug Newcastle Utd. 3 - 1 Q.P.R. First Division
1984/1985 Sat 13 Apr Newcastle Utd. 1 - 0 Q.P.R. First Division
Sat 22 Sep Q.P.R. 5 - 5 Newcastle Utd. First Division
1982/1983 Sat 15 Jan Q.P.R. 2 - 0 Newcastle Utd. Second Division
Sat 28 Aug Newcastle Utd. 1 - 0 Q.P.R. Second Division
1981/1982 Wed 05 May Newcastle Utd. 0 - 4 Q.P.R. Second Division
Sat 05 Sep Q.P.R. 3 - 0 Newcastle Utd. Second Division
1980/1981 Sat 07 Feb Newcastle Utd. 1 - 0 Q.P.R. Second Division
Sat 13 Sep Q.P.R. 1 - 2 Newcastle Utd. Second Division
1979/1980 Sat 26 Apr Q.P.R. 2 - 1 Newcastle Utd. Second Division
Sat 15 Dec Newcastle Utd. 4 - 2 Q.P.R. Second Division
1977/1978 Sat 22 Apr Newcastle Utd. 0 - 3 Q.P.R. First Division
Sat 10 Dec Q.P.R. 0 - 1 Newcastle Utd. First Division
1976/1977 Sat 23 Apr Q.P.R. 1 - 2 Newcastle Utd. First Division
Sat 27 Nov Newcastle Utd. 2 - 0 Q.P.R. First Division
1975/1976 Sat 03 Apr Newcastle Utd. 1 - 2 Q.P.R. First Division
Sat 27 Sep Q.P.R. 1 - 0 Newcastle Utd. First Division
1974/1975 Mon 31 Mar Newcastle Utd. 2 - 2 Q.P.R. First Division
Sat 21 Sep Q.P.R. 1 - 2 Newcastle Utd. First Division
1973/1974 Sat 22 Dec Q.P.R. 3 - 2 Newcastle Utd. First Division
Sat 29 Sep Newcastle Utd. 2 - 3 Q.P.R. First Division
1968/1969 Sat 21 Dec Q.P.R. 1 - 1 Newcastle Utd. First Division
Sat 19 Oct Newcastle Utd. 3 - 2 Q.P.R. First Division
The last time QPR came to St James' Park ...
2012/13 NEWCASTLE 1 QPR 0
1. Tim Krul
5. Danny Simpson
2. Fabricio Coloccini
6. Mike Williamson
3. Davide Santon
8. Vurnon Anita
24. Cheick Tiote 77'
14. James Perch
18. Jonas Gutierrez 60'
19. Demba Ba
9. Papiss Cisse 61'
Subs
37. Steve Harper
20. Gael Bigirimana
22. Sylvain Marveaux 77'
23. Shola Ameobi 61'
25. Gabriel Obertan 60'
28. Sammy Ameobi
31. Shane Ferguson
Local hero Shola Ameobi came off the bench to hand Newcastle a welcome three points and manager Alan Pardew the perfect Christmas present.
The 31-year-old striker produced an assured 81st-minute finish just as it looked as though the Magpies would have to settle for a draw in a game they knew was a must-win affair.
It was no more than they deserved on a day when they dominated throughout, but too often lacked the guile of injured duo Yohan Cabaye and Hatem Ben Arfa.
However, thanks to Ameobi, they got there in the end to claim just their second Barclays Premier League victory in eight attempts and condemn Harry Redknapp to his first defeat as Rangers boss.
The match kicked off on a pitch soaked by persistent rain, which showed little sign of abating, but with referee Kevin Friend having had two looks at it and seeing no reason not to start.
As the first half unfolded, there was clearly surface water, but it did not affect the roll of the ball unduly as the Magpies set about the task of winning a game they simply could not afford to lose or even, in the eyes of their manager, draw.
Roared on by a crowd of 50,180, the majority of whom were well aware of what was at stake, they set about their task with relish and dominated the opening 45 minutes.
However, the lack of a final ball cost them dearly as they were simply unable to convert a wealth of possession into goals.
Left winger Jonas Gutierrez was particularly guilty of failing to produce a telling cross on the numerous occasions on which he took aim, while overlapping full-back Davide Santon got into some promising positions down the same flank, but repeatedly picked out a hooped, rather than a striped, shirt.
In the event, Rob Green was as under-employed as Tim Krul despite finding his penalty area repeatedly besieged by the Magpies.
The game started promisingly for the home side with striker Papiss Cisse heading into the side-netting from Gutierrez's cross, although he did so having nudged defender Fabio da Silva in the back first and it would not have counted anyway.
Stephane Mbia was in the right place at the right time to clear Mike Williamson's goal-bound header from a Vurnon Anita corner three minutes later, although the Dutchman's ball was the sole cross of note he or any of his team-mates delivered before the break.
Indeed, Green's only real save came with 31 minutes played when he plucked Cheick Tiote's shot out of the air, although there was more than a hint of a cross about the Ivorian's attempt.
At the other end, Krul was effectively a spectator and he was called upon for the first time to field Alejandro Faurlin's corner with 11 minutes of the half remaining before then collecting Djibril Cisse's 43rd-minute scuffed volley.
But in the meantime, Anton Ferdinand had blocked a well-struck effort from leading scorer Demba Ba, who later wasted two free-kicks in quick succession, blasting both high over the bar, much to the frustration of the home fans.
QPR produced more inside the opening three minutes of the second half than they had in the entire first with Cisse forcing Krul to turn his low drive around the post and Mbia heading the resulting corner high over.
But as the half settled down, the visitors packed men behind the ball to frustrate their hosts, and were content to try to hit them on the break, a ploy which prompted the introduction of Shaun Wright-Phillips as a 56th-minute replacement for Esteban Granero.
Pardew made a double change on the hour, replacing Gutierrez and, to the clear disapproval of the home fans, Papiss Cisse, with Gabriel Obertan and Ameobi in the search for a breakthrough.
But it was Anita who very nearly made the difference with a 63rd-minute free-kick which Green could only palm away, mercifully for him into a sea of blue, rather than black and white, shirts.
The Rangers goalkeeper had to scramble away Anita's near-post corner two minutes later and Ba saw a shot on the turn deflected for a corner before Ameobi completely mistimed a header as the Magpies made another concerted push.
Ba could not generate enough pace to trouble Green with his 73rd-minute header from Obertan's cross, but when Ameobi's big moment arrived, he was not found wanting.
Sylvain Marveaux slipped the ball into his path on the right side of the penalty area and he steadied himself before curling a left-foot shot across Green and into the bottom corner.
Substitute Marveaux might have added a second two minutes later after being denied by Green, but there was no way back for Redknapp's men.
Tiote will miss the Boxing Day trip to Manchester United after picking up his fifth booking of the season but even that could not take the smile from Pardew's face.