Ashley has witnessed a couple of games at St James' Park, although it has to be said, he was on Tyneside to do business selling land outside of St James' Park and overlooking the transfer of his Sports Direct shop from the Eldon Square complex.
He just happened to be in the area, rather than attend as a fan.
Pardew says Ashley plans a summer rebuilding project, although very few supporters believe a word EITHER of them say these days.
The team has faded so dramatically since Christmas.
Yohan Cabaye has yet to be replaced (and Ashley still has £19m in his arse pocket), Loic Remy and Luuk de Jong are only on loan, and question marks hanging over the futures of Fabricio Coloccini, Hatem Ben Arfa, Shola Ameobi, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Sylvain Marveaux and Gabriel Obertan among others.
Many of those players don't get on with Pardew, and that in itself, is one of the reasons why the team is in freefall.
Alan Pardew: "I think that's been a positive, that he sees we need a bit of quality in the group, that the players are doing their best, but we do need more quality if we are going to impact the top of the league.
"It's important that the squad is balanced and has a certain level of quality that represents this club. There's no doubt after the loss of Cabaye that we need to add quality to this group.
"We have the Remy situation that we need to resolve one way or the other. That needs to be addressed because we certainly need a player of his quality."