In Ashton and his strike partner Rob Hulse they had attackers who were a persistent thorn in the sides of the visiting centre-halves Alan Stubbs and David Weir.
Occasionally the staff gave in to pleas and allowed reverent pilgrims from the far side of the world, visiting musicians, or VIPs at private receptions, to peer in at their filing cabinets and swivel chairs.
We sat down on one side of the huge visiting hall, away from the guards peering over their elevated desk at the front.
But for the past two years, as a part of the beneficiation process, these buyers have gone to the other side of the globe, visiting the capital of Botswana to buy an annual $6 billion worth of diamonds.
A somewhat more progressive view, which I share, is that London represents a new England, which still has at its heart the royal family, and I always love seeing the royal side of the city, visiting Buckingham Palace and the Royal Mews (where the royal horse-drawn carriages, as well as their horses, and motor cars are kept).
If you want to see another, more authentic side of the city, visit the working docks, as reported in December by our travel correspondent Kevin Rushby (see guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/dec/11/real-dubai-stopover-trading-post).
Most were expecting something out of the ordinary - Wales being slight favourites against Australia for one thing, which was as much to do with the state of the visiting side.
Indeed, the huge number of empty seats at the KCOM Stadium stadium for Hull's midweek EFL Cup quarter-final win over Newcastle suggests many of the visiting side's increasingly disaffected fans will not even bother tuning in.
Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the ruling military council, ordered helicopters sent to Port Said to ferry injured team members and fans of the visiting side to a military hospital.
A top-four place was out of the visiting side's reach before kick-off, and they are still not assured of a Europa League spot with Manchester United able to overhaul them.
