Former Toon boss Steve McClaren has been rolled out to give his thoughts on a potential takeover on Tyneside during a guest appearance on talkSPORT this week.
It wouldn’t be Steve McClaren if a bizarre comment or two didn’t come out of his mouth, and he’s not let us down here, with him warning fans that the Saudi-backed buyers could yet come in and “cut the budget” and refuse to spend after a few good months…
Yes, you heard that right, he worries that a group who have more wealth between them than all 19 other Premier League owners combined might end up spending LESS than Mike Ashley!
Here’s what he had to say:
“The North East is a unique area for football.
“The Newcastle fans are thinking ‘not another season with Mike Ashley’.
“What happens at a football club, as we all see, is the crave to want this and want that.
“We want the takeover, we want Mike Ashley out, and this and that…
“And it’s going to be great for the first three or four months but it depends what they do and which direction they go after that.
“They may come in and could be one of those [owners] who cut the budget and they’re not going to give the money or rescue the club.
“Nobody knows until they come in,
“But what you will get is a huge lift from those supporters wanting change and craving change.
“Football is a religion in the north east, it is a religion in Newcastle.
“They will want to see change, so they must be so frustrated again [that the takeover hasn’t gone through yet].”
Talk of initial success and then a cut in funds! Really?
That said, considering how successful he was in his spell at Newcastle and the bizarre way he went about his job it’s hardly surprising that he thinks we might be worse off under a new regime!
All I can say is that it’s about time someone somewhere came up with a different view or said something we could smile at. Although perhaps this is exactly that, as Steve ‘quote the obvious’ McClaren has spoken and once again proven that wherever his finger is, it’s not on the pulse!
Another so-called expert being paraded to give non-opinions. Up next The Takeover Talk-in with Ruud Gullit, Kenny Dalglish, Graham Souness and Sam Allardyce!
