Well that's part of the reason Pardew is leaving. All Ashley wants to do is finish top 10 and continue selling his top players.
Yeah I saw Toonfan's analysis of the structure of Newcastle's scouting system on another thread. He seemed to say that Pardew was just a coach and had next to no involvement with transfers. If that's true, than it seems likely that Ashley wanted players to be bought for their resale value (which a scout would be best placed to identify) without any consideration for whether or not they would help the team (which a manager could identify). That would suggest he doesn't give a damn how Newcastle actually do on the pitch.
Then I see Coloccini is the favourite. It's like Ashley just went "Feck it, I don't want to interview anyone." *Sees Coloccini walking down the hall* "Make that lad manager."
Though then again, that assumes Ashley is actually at Newcastle...
This will all end in tears for Newcastle I think. The days of Pardew managing them may be a lot better than what they'll put up with for the next few years.