I'm referring to your comment below as you compared your stagnant commercial revenue to Spurs which had grown as if Ashley had done a bad thing. It's clear you've completely ignored the global growth of the Premier League, especially thanks to Twitter and other social media developments since then.
Of course NUFC had higher commercial revenue than Spurs but like I said you'd had some good seasons prior to 2007, hence more exposure and ability to get better deals. Spurs started hitting Champions League in late 2000's and been in Europe every season since 2006 and regularly finishing top 6.
NUFC were at the limit of spending when Ashley came in and he couldn't maintain the spending and a year later relegation and then mid to lower league places with a 2nd relegation. There was one season getting to 5th but apart from that, how do you think the global brand of NUFC grew? The fact NUFC were only behind West Ham and Everton in commercial revenue, even after 2 relegations and a single 5th place is not a negative at all.
Those teams who have millions of fans globally which are clearly the big 6 in England generate huge amounts via retail, advertising, merchandising and whatever else. That alongside all the exposure the big 6 get due to being on TV and being in Europe just about every season since 2007 adds to their global brand and marketability.
NUFC aren't as big a club as some mags may think and therefore can't command the sponsorship deals that the big 6 can. I know it's only Facebook but look at how millions the big 6 have, hence potential exposure. Note Leicester having over 6m and no doubt helped by the league win and recent seasons. Leicester aside, Spurs have the same amount of followers as the other 13 teams added together.
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Facebook isn't as popular as it was late 2000's and Twitter came about. Though it was mid 2017 before NUFC twitter hit 1m followers and it's grown considerably from the Saudi takeover to double that and well over 2m now. This website had NUFC in 11th two years ago and it's not fact but it's still an indication of global interest.
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Or there's this interactive map where you can pick teams and it shows how Leicester have changed due to obvious reasons as this link shows.
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It's just a Google based result and as the article says trying to calculate global popularity is tricky and almost impossible. There's obviously a lot more than goes into commercial revenue than just Google search results and social media followers. It's still a general indicator of the gap now between the big 6 and the also rans of which NUFC is obviously a part of. NUFC most certainly aren't everyones 2nd favourite team as the Entertainers tag is long gone. This is the decade from 2009 to 2019 but even that won't show the current trend as it shows how Liverpool were higher than Man Utd in 2019 and for obvious reasons.
It's also not just the clubs as players also have huge social media followings so they again add value to the club again in terms of marketing. How many big names have the Mags had with millions of followers on various SM websites? Some players have more followers than NUFC have on the various SM websites.
As we all know, NUFC had been spending big pre Ashley and Ashley didn't come in throwing money about and cleared a loan didn't he? Aye MUFC had some good seasons prior to Ashley but they ended up in debt and it was unsustainable. Do you really believe that Ashley should have kept spending money the club didn't have keeping up with Spurs commercial revenue, all while Spurs enjoyed top 6 finishes and Europe and NUFC were spent up and couldn't really keep pace any more being a mid table also ran?
Did you miss the bit when I suggested the commercial revenue wasn't that bad when you take away the big 6 and compare it to the 14 also rans instead rather than comparing it to 10 seasons prior? Only 2 teams generated more in 2018 and I also suggested reasons as to why they did given their league positions in preceding seasons compared to NUFC's mid lower league and a relegation.
But aye, you're right as Ashley should have kept up with Spurs commercial revenue. I guess I am also on a wind up pointing out the fact you're ignoring growth of the PL as a global brand. That along with social media growth also being a part of this huge increase in PL commercial revenue of which a huge chunk has gone to the big 6 given they've dominated the top 6 positions for over a decade now
why do I bother posting all this waffle? 
wah the richest club in the world!
