You're arguing a technicality. Yes, you are right that Ashley ok'd a no-brainer decision to sign a world-class manager who turned up on the doorstep without anything proactive being done on the part of Newcastle United.
But the spirit of @trooper's question is not technical. Did it require any kind of intelliigence, strategy, business acumen or planning ? Did it fuck.
And Rafa would be gone every window since he's been here because of Ashley were it not for 1) the fans 2) Amanda Stavely and 3) Rafa's own strong sense of fairness.
As I said, everything good that falls in his lap he seems to almost purposefully trainwreck with glee. Every decision he has made has been aggressively stupid.
And you're going to argue that because he didn't stab Rafa in the neck with a pen instead of signing him that he's done something to benefit the club?