Further developments have come to light this week with regards to the latest possible takeover talk of NUFC. It’s early days but after years of frustration under Ashley’s reign, it’s hard not to get too excited. It could potentially release the chains attached from the Ashley era, enabling us to believe we’d finally have some ambitious owners to take us to the next level.
Rumours are that Amanda Staveley would be the figure head of a takeover and backed by £28 billion firm, PCP Capital partners from the Middle East. Articles ran in the Chronicle this week explaining how the Middle East is very competitive regarding football, with the only nation there without a top football club in Europe being Saudi Arabia. It could be that investors there are looking for a new club, apparently we are one of three English clubs being considered, to rival the likes of Manchester City.
If this was to come off, and it’s a big if, what would be the potential impact for NUFC?
NUFC competing for top players again
Investment and finance rules modern football and this is what we are lacking under Ashley. It is almost impossible, Leicester aside, to break into the top 4 without serious financial muscle.
A new owner like PCP would certainly give us that opportunity. It would have to be like Man City, where we build gradually but it would just be so refreshing to see us showing ambition in the transfer market again and have a free spending window similar to that of Everton’s this summer. Arguably, we have not had that since Freddy Shepherd was in charge, with his club record signing of Michael Owen yet to be beaten by Ashley.
Keeping Benitez
The major positive of recent years being a Newcastle fan has been the arrival and work of current manager, Rafa Benitez. Rafa is ambitious and has big plans for Newcastle. He will not be happy battling relegation next season even – he’ll want year on year progression and I imagine that includes getting Newcastle United back into the Champions League. It may sound a million miles away at the moment, but with ambitious new owners, big investment, a top class manager and a city that lives and breathes football, the sky could be the limit.
As a fan, it’s great having a manager of this calibre and expectation, but there will come a time when Ashley has to catch up before Rafa finds a new club who will match his ambition. A new takeover could solve this and keep Rafa at SJP.
Uniting the fans further – turning hope into a reality?
Another major positive has been the unity of the fans under Bentiez. We have a common goal, the atmosphere is far better at games, we sell out games and initiatives like Gallowgate flags have been a fantastic addition to match days. The only thing that could unite the fans further would be confirmation Rafa is staying, all the speculation of him leaving naturally causes unrest and gives the press an angle to publish click bait content about NUFC, usually negative. A takeover would be a game changer as keeping Rafa would allow us to move forward together, with hope for the future.
The latest takeover talk is exciting and one NUFC fans will be keen to learn more about over the coming weeks. As always though, the caveat is that this is Mike Ashley and a spanner in the works is usually not far away. The club has been on the market for a while with no buyers, so his asking price is clearly too high. The new TV deal may have just made us an attractive proposition despite the asking price; and Staveley must have been impressed with the atmosphere and unity on display at the weekend.
Here is hoping for some positive news soon, so we can all get excited about the future again.
Nice write up Simon sharing views most fans would agree with. But excited might be stretching too far. Whatever happens re a takeover will probably be long way off and the NUFC HMRC case a further spanner in the works.
georgio(Quote)
Thanks Georgio and good point on the excitement, early days yet as you say. Would just be great if it comes off as we hope and the HMRC case isn’t as bad as feared!
Simon Riddlesden(Quote)
I have figured out what that England performance reminded me of. About 30 years ago I was young and in in love and let my wife take me to a modern dance recital. After about 15 minutes I couldn’t take it any more and said I had to go to the toilet. My intention was to sit in the bar and listen to what they called music, which was just a bunch of banging on drums, triangles and tubular bells, and meet her as the theatre emptied. The bar was closed so I sat on the steps for an hour. Of course I got into trouble but that was still better than being stuck in a seat watching that turgid excuse for entertainment.
I should have thought about this last night and turned the game off after 15 minutes, the difference being I do have a bar and do not have to sit on steps.
The way England play football is very much like modern dance. There is a lot of crab like movement with no purpose, some skill but with no obvious outcome, a lot of repetition and stomping around.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Sorry Simon. I haven’t read your article yet but will. I had to finish my thoughts on England first 🙂
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Ggrrrr
Dutch(Quote)
Interesting thoughts on Simon’s article. 😳
georgio(Quote)
Continuing my metaphor. Modern dance is very much like England. A lot of movement but boring and going nowhere. Some of the better teams play Ballet which I don’t much care for but can appreciate. You can see the skill, the sets and music are often excellent. There is usually a beginning, middle and end to the dancing and the Music, Swan Lake for example. It is not just aimless stomping around with a few contortions thrown in. There is a certain beauty to it and it is not just pure physicality.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
georgio: are you referring to me? I said I was finishing on my England thoughts and would read his article later.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
So, in summary, England bad modern dance, Spain ballet.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
England have always been like this. There seems to be some forgetful nostalgia for teams-gone-by but often the better players would freeze when pulling on the Three Kittens shirt. You had teams built around players at a great Liverpool side and a great Man U side when the majority were English. They were never asked to play the same way as their club sides did though.
Now Spurs are the mainstays of the England team and yet England are not asked to play like Spurs.
I have read a few reports and quite a few are suggesting Lallana is a big miss and will turn it around. FFS, now we are really clutching at straws.
England have not lost a qualifier in 38 games. The best in the world. But look at who we played and look at what happens when we get to tournaments and play somebody decent. Or even organized and committed like Iceland which really should go down as the worst defeat in English national team history.
You set up a worldwide job search paying 3 million a year, YES 3 MILLION A YEAR, and come up with Mr. Roy and Southgate…
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Love your comments as always Eric and totally agree with you on England; I actually forgot they even had a game last night! The Iceland game was the turning point for me and taking much of an interest.
Simon Riddlesden(Quote)
georgio: it is the international break, where blogs go to die.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
ERIC Told you club would wait for the break to disclose club captain new contract which is six year one
Icedog(Quote)
And… AND… The Chronic referred to Mick Quinn as “Toon Legend” again!!!
That really annoys me because it reduces the status of actual Toon legends when you put a fat, horse neglecting blowhard in the same category as them. I don’t know where the “legend” cutoff is but it certainly does not fcking include Mick Quinn.
Lets start with Shearer, Beardsley, Milburn and work down from there. McDonald and Moncur. I could probably think of 2 or 300 hundred before Quinn even entered my mind.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Ice didn’t see it yet mate. Was still ranting about England and then I saw the Chronic refer to Quinn as a legend again (they stopped for a while) and that set me off 🙂
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Ice: I think Mick Quinn is my Great White Whale, like Colback is yours. Whenever I see Quinn referred to as a legend it boils my **** and whenever you see Ginger Jack referred to as a footballer I think it does the same for you 🙂
Eric Sykes(Quote)
And now that the punditocracy are saying that NUFC are not as bad as they thought what is the betting that any will predict a win at Southampton? Merse? Has us on 2 points. Lawro? Probabaly has us on negative 2 if that were possible. Thommo? Michael “Interesting” Owen?
Eric Sykes(Quote)
As others have said – the main concern at the current time is the outcome of the HMRC investigation and the impact that could have on the club as well as a sale.
If there is any mileage in the claims (and the club only disputed the legality of the warrants, – which failed – rather than the substance) then Ashley’s damage to NUFC may be felt for a long time to come.
sickandtired(Quote)
Simon , thanks good read. It’s nice to have something to potentially get excited about, a glimmer of light at the end of a very long dark decade long tunnel.
The day the fatman sells up I will rejoice. I know we could end up with worse but I’m done with even considering that possibility. The man is a parasite on the club, as George Caulkin said he IS Newcastle’s sickness.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Yep, his greed and snake like business conduct will likely do for us.
KIMTOON(Quote)
They are only talking about a maximum of 5 million pounds in potential fraud. Even if NUFC had to pay all of that back that is not such a massive sum of money. Will there be fines? Doubt it. The Revenue have gone easy on every other company tax evasion scheme from Google to Apple and the Fat Man does have deep pockets to fight it if he chose to.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
And if we are bought, the new owners could distance themselves from the old regime. Although they might be tainted by Saudi money, not that it matters to Stuart 🙂
Eric Sykes(Quote)
…or me!
shamrock(Quote)
Good to see Lascelles has signed new contract. He deserves it, he’s been brilliant.
I doubt Amanda Stavely will be the new owner. We’re just not that lucky.
Stuart79(Quote)
I’ll wait for the empty seats in protest. I don’t think there’ll be many if they funded £100m player purchases!
Stuart79(Quote)
Politics are better kept off this blog, but sometimes it creeps in like when you have a middle east hedge fund looking at taking over.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Come on Nobby’s Peru.
shamrock(Quote)
Pfft. The fans would lap it up if that happened.
shamrock(Quote)
So many fans were writing Lascelles off at the beginning of the season. Now his signing is the second coming (or 3rd) of Jesus.
shamrock(Quote)
You got it 100% spot on there mate
Icedog(Quote)
There’s three evil things in this world that I don’t want to discuss as I cannot by myself change it,money,politics,religion end of
Icedog(Quote)
Murphy has scored twice already tonight,think we should have kept him imo
Icedog(Quote)
And I don’t care if any of you have met Mick Quinn and think he is alright, a nice guy, kind to animals when they are not horses… he is still not a LEGEND.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Don’t know about him but I’ve met super Mac a few times he seems a nice guy my mate owns a electrical shop where often go for a chat and super Mac is often in he buys TVs to put in houses for new players moving into new houses have had quite a few free tickets off him for the platinum end too
Icedog(Quote)
Bit Ice. SuperMac IS a legend. I would not have a problem with The Chronic referring to him in that way. I have a problem with them referring to Mick Quinn as a “legend”.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I hate international breaks more so for a team as poor as England there is another break in Nov ffs,they could have twelve months together and would be no better imo
Icedog(Quote)
Hey man. What are they doing in November? The qualifiers are over. Fckin friendlies FFS. That is just a joke.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Ice: Oh FFS I didn’t even realise there was another break between Nov 4 and18.
Why!!!!!
That is a the best time to watch and play football. Weather is a bit **** but not too ****. Everybody is still in it.
These people are morons.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Beats me what the breaks for,another thing getting my goat is FIFA are going to have a meeting to talk about making the breaks longer!! wtf
Icedog(Quote)
Well: the final qualifiers are here for the USA to go to Russia.
DeAndre is playing, I think. C’mon DeAndre.
But the Donald Trump and Russia narrative in the WC in 8 months would be funny.
USA, USA, USA.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Shelvey has broke his finger and is in a cast,he was breaking up at fight in training,the captain was having a go at Diamo for his lack of effort in training and came to blows,Shelvey stepped in to break up the fight hence the broken finger
Icedog(Quote)
Diame needs gone Ice, does FA in a game so no surprise he lacks effort in training.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Looking forward to Wales v Ireland this coming Monday.
shamrock(Quote)
Can’t stand international football any more. The games are generally **** with players thrown together who don’t really know each other. Southgate? Why? He’s shoehorning in players to a system where they never normally play. Shelvey’s about the only English player I can think of with any creativity at all. Maybe Llalana. Southgate’s expecting Henderson and Dier to produce defence splitting passes when they’re both DMs. Rubbish. £50m Sterling. Rubbish. There’s not an England player who can dribble, beat a man and play a clever pass. In fact there’s only about 70 playing in the PL so they have a 3/1 chance of making the squad. Dreadful stat and a humiliating one on player training and development in this country.
georgio(Quote)
Bloody thing is mate that it should have been Diame that should have came off worse
Icedog(Quote)
Very true mate. I am fortunate to have a foot in each of England and Ireland’s camp. For me, the Irish squad always plays with passion (even if half of them were born in England!). Because there is no fan expectation and no build up by the press, it is always a much more enjoyable experience to watch the Irish games. It’s bloody brilliant when Ireland qualify for a tournament or pull of a decent run in qualifying. I moved to Ireland as a 9-y-o and stayed until 15, so a good chunk of the most influential years of my childhood. Watched Ray Houghton score the winner against Italy in 1994 from my home in Galway and been hooked ever since. We’re all part of Jackie’s army!
shamrock(Quote)
If Ireland’s successes tell you one thing it’s the importance of a good manager – like Southgate perhaps 🙂 We’re so lucky to have Rafa!
georgio(Quote)
I am not counting any chickens but it looks like the USA, USA, USA are close to qualifying. That is really important because there is a groundswell of support for football over here now.
It is even more important because it might mean a successful bid for the 2026 World Cup.
You lot at NUFC would love to be in Chicago rather than Vladivostoc and Seattle rather than Siberia and playing the guitar rather than being in Qatar.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Whatever Trump might do to this country it is still a wonderful place with many great cities and nice people and unbelievable places to see like Chicago, Seattle and LA.
Maybe not Texas because they will have 110 semi-automatic guns per 2 year old girl by 2026. Now that could be dangerous. WHAT HAPPENS IF I PRESS THIS DAD!!! Oopsey.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Eric, you may joke but haven’t there been a few cases where kids have been involved in gun accidents after getting their hands on mum or dads weapon of choice over there ?
KIMTOON(Quote)
International breaks are just so boring now.
Anyway, Times are reporting Jabba wants a quick sale as he doesn’t want to invest any money in January. Now that would make a lot of sense. So that’s why I think it’s unlikely to be true.
Stuart79(Quote)
I know Kimtoon.
From what you read of what I say I should not be flippant or sarcastic about the gun problem over here. There are 300 million + guns in the USA,
Bill Clinton grandfathered semi-automatic weapons – which meant if you had one you could keep it – at 600,000. The congress overturned that a couple of years ago and let anybody have as many as they want.
Now there are 9 million semi-automatic weapons. Really, 9 million, I am not making it up for a effect.
This bunt-stock ban is just for show. If they get rid of them there will still be 9 million weapons in the hands of really stupid people and another 300 million in the hands of even more stupid people.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
The really stupid thing over here is that most of the ones that survived the massacre in Vegas are thanking God that He saved them. That implies that He did not save the others and favoured them – saved them over the others. I makes absolutely no sense to me unless they think that the people who died went to a better place. But then why wouldn’t they want to die and go to a “better place”
Religion makes no sense. Over here whenever there is a killing spree they say “let’s pray”. **** OFF.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Eric, I read a really startling fact yesterday mate. Apparently more Americans have been killed by guns in the last 49 years than those that died in all the wars America has taken part in ! That is mental, totally mental. As for semi automatics, there is no reason for folk to be allowed to buy them, an ordinary hand gun or rifle is more than sufficient to protect yourself or hunt with. Semi automatics are for one purpose only and that is to slay many people in one go. Ridiculous to let joe blogs and his mrs own them and there can be no argument that shows it’s reasonable .
KIMTOON(Quote)
Eric, are they any the wiser as to why he did it ?
KIMTOON(Quote)
Still trying to figure out how he got so many weapons into the hotel to be honest, that would of been a hell of a lot of luggage or boxes. 😕
KIMTOON(Quote)
The US of A! Where you get asked for ID to buy alcohol yet you can buy a gun at the drop of a hat… 😕
Stuart79(Quote)
Kimtoon: I did a bit of business back in the day in Wisconsin. My old boss did some hunting. Was with a client and they got into their hunting stories. Apparently there are a certain number of licenses given out every year to kill bears. So this guy waits at the bears den and shoots it and then has it stuffed. They thought this was cool. I thought it was disgusting, waiting for the poor thing to come home and blasting it. Almost as cowardly as the Vegas Guy, but you can see the mentality.
I am surprised they don’t just rear bunny rabbits and have these morons blast them to bits on shooting ranges.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
They should have run towards the bullets to get to a better place. Why cry about your wife being shot and killed at random when they are off to a better place. It is God’s will. Why have candle light vigils? Why even send the Police up there to stop him?
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Oh, because you are a bunch of fcking hypocrites, that’s why.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I live in an oasis of sense in mid-America – Chicago. I couldn’t live anywhere else in the middle of the country. If I go N, S, E or West it is populated by morons.
I was in a bar in Wisconsin last year and they had a raffle. First prize was a gun, 2nd prize was a bottle of Tequila in a rifle shaped bottle.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
they probably do mate. It’s a mad world , where pleasure is derived from killing an animal for sport , I don’t and have never gotten that.
KIMTOON(Quote)
So, my fear was that the winner of the raffle would get his gun and his bottle of tequila and go out shooting bears, or rabbits which would be much more their style as they are a bunch of cowards.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Kimtoon: there is a whole “hunting” culture over here that you are probably not aware of. It is not just the landed gentry who do it for “sport” and eat their kills it is Joe Blow who does it for fun. Millions of them. They will shoot a poor deer and injure it and then have to follow it for hours as it dies. Some are not very good so the deer gets away and spends days dying an agonising death. And some even use a bow and arrow. The chances of killing something outright are about 1 in 10 so they have to chase the poor thing down.
I can understand the Vegas Guy because it is so prevalent here in the “hunting” community.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Sunday Mirror reporting Amanda Stavely has opened talks with….. Fenway about buying Liverpool. ?
Stuart79(Quote)
And F@ck-head Donald Junior killed a beautiful leopard for “sport”. It is not 1817 you c@nt.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I think we can forget any buy out from anybody,looks like jabba has been fiddling since he took over,new report says they saying this tax fiddle involves 500 million
Icedog(Quote)
Total rubbish imo. Just dramatising the investigation. basically saying every deal under Ashley is under scrutiny. Tbey need grounds first, for each deal – or they wont get authority to access those files. Good luck with that. They wont have the grounds or the resources to do that level of fishing.
shamrock(Quote)
The thing about HMRC is that they can “assume” and extrapolate on their findings. For instance, if they prove the club did it for 5 transfers they can “assume” they did it for the others. HMRC are literally a law unto themselves.
Stuart79(Quote)
Have you ever seen a Revenue investigation? I have. Before I was Eric Sykes I saw some tax scams and when the IRS came after them in Chicago the IRS would settle for about half the amount they were defrauded. They never went up the chain and never looked at the other dealings. They are a bunch of middle management civil servants so I would settle down if I were you Stuart.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
And these were not small tax frauds that I am talking about. These added up to billions of dollars, so I do know what I am talking about.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I don’t really need to settle down, Eric. My experience of HMRC says that the case they think they have is probably not enough to get a prosecution. I was merely pointing out the powers HMRC have. They work under very different rules than criminal prosecutions.
Stuart79(Quote)
Generally, HMRC don’t want cases to go to a criminal court because then it’s a case of the defendants having to be proven guilty “beyond all reasonable doubt” with a jury. They don’t like the idea of losing. A criminal court case risks that. Generally that’s why they often settle cases before they get to court. “Doing a deal” is a regular HMRC ploy.
Stuart79(Quote)
And Stuart: I have seen it in real life so I know what the Revenue do. I could go deeper into it but I don’t want to. They want a bit of publicity and then it will end. They do not have the staff to go farther.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I hope you know more about them than you know what I say/type in your imagination.
Stuart79(Quote)