The Independent’s Martin Hardy wrote a largely positive piece on Rafa Benitez recently, stating that the Spaniard will remain at the club next season, however it also contained one worrying claim – Mike Ashley looks very likely to remain as our owner this summer.
The piece from the trusted North-East correspondent made bold claims that Rafa has already committed to Newcastle for next season, containing quotes that suggested he’s here to stay for the long-term, but talk that Ashley is looking ‘increasingly likely’ to stay on is not what us NUFC fabs want to hear.
Here’s a snippet from his piece in the Independent over the weekend:
“Potential takeover talk has all but ended, with Mike Ashley ruling out any approach from Amanda Staveley in mid-January, following her failure to reach the club’s asking price.
“There is an increasing likelihood that he will remain as owner.”
This goes against what has been claimed by the likes of the Daily Mirror recently, who suggested that Staveley is ‘confident’ of sealing a takeover after ‘constructive talks’ in recent weeks.
That being said, we shouldn’t be surprised to read conflicting stories on the takeover front. Given the way it’s all went over the last 6 months, it seems that very few actually have any idea of what’s going on.
Martin Hardy may not either, but I back him to know more than most of these national papers sending out stories by people who have no reason to be ‘in the know’ in all of this.
Let’s hope he’s right on the Rafa front and wrong about Ashley’s potential stay at St James’ Park. I don’t quite see a world where the two can work together to make Newcastle great again.
Did not think it would take long for Olly to come up with negative click bait material. Let’s wait for positive info from a well known site.
Dutch(Quote)
I’m as keen as any to see things turn out positively, but I’m not going to ignore big claims from a reputable North-East source (writing for a reliable paper) just because I don’t want to believe what he’s saying.
Olly Hawkins(Quote)
I would like to know were they get this information from just another scaremongering article Mike Ashley has no choice but to sell if he wants full face value for the club if not raffa will not stay so we see in the next few months .
Zorro(Quote)
When will people realise , there’s just no way Ashley will sell , why would he , he’s laughing all the way to the bank , there’s talk about 121 million windfall this season plus what he had in coffers from last season , why would he walk away from money like that , and it’ll be the same this season with transfers , Rafa will get next to nothing
Jack(Quote)
I firmly believe nobody knows anything with the exception of Ashley’s inner circle and those on the other side of the negotiation table!! What will be will be, until then we should all revel in the fantastic run of form we are currently producing and the plight of the SMB’s…..
Toonloony1971(Quote)
This was focused on the previous talks, before our resurgence.
Rafa will stay until his contract is up, at least a year, and he wont commit to a renewal until Ashley has invested in players to the extent that Rafa expects.
You can bet that Ashley has Rafa’s contract sewn up so tight that financially Ashley’s well ahead if Rafa leaves, so Rafa’s here for the duration.
Rob Brown(Quote)