As takeover talk rumbles on, local reporters are telling us that the club are claiming they’ve actually received ‘no bid’ as of yet from the Bin Zayed Group (BZG).
This does not add up – but the key in all of this could be that people at the club don’t actually know what’s going on; and only Mike Ashley does.
The statement from the BZG on Monday claimed that ‘terms had been agreed’ after talks with Mike Ashley – something the club did NOT play down and described as ‘genuine’ – and the latest statement arriving from the Middle-East yesterday made a whole host of huge new claims.
In this Thursday lunchtime statement, Midhat Kidwai – the managing director of Bin Zayed Group – announced that proof of funds were shown in mid April, also claiming that takeover documents had now been signed by BOTH parties and sent to the Premier League as a result.
These are big claims to be making up, and there’s only so cautious you can be about such an announcement when neither Mike Ashley or NUFC have come out to deny them over 24 hours later.
North-east reporters from the Chronicle (Lee Ryder), the Telegraph (Luke Edwards) and the Mail (Craig Hope) are stressing that there’s a lot of scepticism and caution STILL surrounding this deal, despite the BZG continuing to make huge claims, but if the club only know so much due to Mike Ashley’s silence, it makes you wonder just how much any of these local journalists could possibly know.
After all, the Bin Zayed Group are sounding adamant about this takeover and would be made to look absolute fools if it came out that everything they had been saying was a lie. Not only that, a friend of mine who lives and works in the UAE tells me these are the LAST people who’d want to be associated with awful PR. They’ve had a lot to say in their last two statements and these claims have existed since Sunday night now, yet the man they are talking about / with (Mike Ashley) has done nothing to play down their claims.
Don’t you think he would have by now if they were making things up? Not for the fans (we know he rarely keeps us in the loop!), but to clear his own name.
So, this leads me to believe that Mike Ashley either LOVES the exposure this ‘Sheikh Khaled takeover’ is getting and feels it’ll encourage another interested party to make their move / start a bidding war (hence why he’s refused to shoot down their claims), or something is genuinely going on in the background and they’re about to announce it.
There’s also a cynical argument that this is just a ploy to delay Rafa’s contract talks and eat into the transfer window, giving us less time to sign players, but I don’t see how that benefits him this time around.
If I’m being honest and putting my neck on the line, I think something’s genuinely going on. Why? Because I don’t believe that Ashley would stay silent for days on end if people were making several false claims about buying ‘his’ club.
Either way, it feels like he’s left the club, Rafa Benitez and our whole fan base wondering what on earth is going on – so let’s hope this has a happy ending after days of constantly refreshing Twitter and praying for an official breakthrough.
What are you on about “the official line from NUFC is no bid made”. There is no official stance from NUFC As they have said nothing. This is just **** reporters mking up pap as nothing at all to go on right now. I am inclined to think it is all true for the simple reason fat boy has not denied it.
Craig(Quote)
If there wasn’t any truth in the stories and statements from BZG I would of expected the club or Ashley to have come out and said that by now. People with such a high profile and status as the sheik and his company would be very unlikely to make official statements that were complete rubbish and not true!
Bob(Quote)
I could understand no comments from all parties meaning it’s a dud and the fatman being upto his old tricks but with BZG making a comment then I’m inclined to believe it’s TRUE.
I am tired of seeing the same unsourced articles re jigged to make a story for the sake of it. Journalists who have not further to add but continue anyway with pap. 😛
Chris(Quote)
I can tell you 100% that the club have signed a confidentiality clause and have notified all senior staff to declare ‘No comment’ and ‘business as usual’. lee has also informed them he will update them on progress when he can.
I don’t normally post on here, but my information is based on the actual email sent to staff on Monday evening – They didn’t email staff about confidentiality during the last takeover attempts – take from that what you will.
anonymous geordie(Quote)
Because you all (understandably) loathe Ashley, you have the erroneous belief that this makes Ashley “bad” and therefore, everyone else is “good”. Benitez is an excellent manager but he is also divisive and underhand (and whines a lot about transfers). It equally follows that because there is a claimed bidder, this also makes them “good” and therefore, “truthful”.
There is a bidder, that much is clear and a deal is close but it isn’t on the scale of the Man City owners.
Benitez is worried because the new owners will want to impose a Director of Football above him, when Rafa really wants total control.
Fat Dave(Quote)
Fatty hasn’t said nowt? So wha? Tell that to the people who used to work for USC that he threw onto the dole without notice. Or Rangers when he did a hookie deal with the outgoing and disgraced former Chairman.
The fact no one at the club seems to know what is going on sounds exactly like how Ashley operates.
And to Olly – if you don’t believe BZG would make false claims then how ate you ‘sticking your neck out’ by assuming there claims are therefore genuine?
Sickandtired(Quote)
Because so many of people are sceptical about them / this takeover..
NUFC aren’t saying much, Ashley’s saying nowt and every national / local reporter doesn’t seem to know what’s going on, so anyone who backs it to be true is sticking their neck out for me.
Olly Hawkins(Quote)