According to North-East reporter Ian Murtagh, Mike Ashley is ready to break his silence on the takeover front – and TWO ‘interested’ parties could be in the firing line.
His piece for the Daily Star claims that the NUFC owner plans to brand both Henry Mauriss and the Bellagraph Nova (BN) Group “time-wasters” in an upcoming statement, with him feeling the two consortiums are not ‘serious’ buyers.
Both had emerged as potential alternatives following the collapse of a Saudi-backed bid, however their reported ‘interest’ has come to nothing.
Murtagh claims ‘bids’ from both are still with Mike Ashley’s lawyers and unlikely to go any further, with the Sports Direct owner set to give his version of events on both after a lot of talk but little action since a Saudi bid went stale.
As for the Staveley-led bid, his piece for the Daily Star states that Ashley will tell his critics he’s NOT to blame for the collapse of the Saudi-backed buyout.
He’s believed to be ‘stunned’ they pulled out over three weeks ago, but mainly ‘frustrated’ with the Premier League over the time taken to make a decision on their successful bid.
As for Mauriss and the BN Group, the former has disappeared at the very moment he had the perfect opportunity to step in and seal a deal, while the latter have been exposed over the weekend by Reuters, with their Chopra-led ‘bid’ appearing to be full of false claims and photoshopped pictures with Barack Obama.
Follow us on Twitter (@NUFCBlogcouk) / Follow us on Facebook HERE
The day Ashley dies will be the biggest party on Tyneside ever..scum
Ian Cusack(Quote)
@Ian Cusack. Cmon mate, I dont like Ashley one bit either. As man, the way he treats people (Jonas) and all the other stuff. But thats out of order, we’re better than that.
TonyNUFCBurn(Quote)
It’s all very boring now, no more takeover… Just the usual cross… Just sell up and move on..
Terry Syson(Quote)
A joke. As each person tries and we have a glimmer of hope as Ashley tries” to sell the club.. Each person who comes to take over is undoubtedly trying to have a laugh as I cannot see any changes with the current board and people concerned… it’s like they are trying to sell to whoever wants the club???
Raymond(Quote)
I still think that he isn’t a willing seller and the bids are generally dreamt up by Bishop to make it look like Ashley is being proactive, When in reality he has no intentions of giving up his billboard.
I always find it funny that these take overs tend to fall flat just before the season starts.
Ian Cusack, Could that be the same head case that was seen being thrown out of a shop in Whitely Bay during the Lock Down ?
The same man who is seen as a complete heed the baal within the local Non League scene ?
X.Y,WHY,MAN(Quote)
This is a recurring theme over and over that doesn’t seem to happen elsewhere, with one man being the common denominator, yet nobody questions why. I hope everybody stops going until the point he has to sell us for buttons.
Thiago Agogo(Quote)
I don’t blame the Saudis for pulling out. I wouldn’t buy a wounded animal when all the vets are shut.
Ashley is clearly desperate to sell, his high street stores are losing money at a rapid rate. Only reason he wants out.
As much as I despise the man, he knows what he’s doing. Unfortunately every other capitalist does too.
He’s here for a bit longer yet I’m afraid.
Enjoy next season!
Rodzilla(Quote)
In view of all that has happened in the past, and I am with most of you guys , in the past tense, but the Saudi Situation is different, this is not down to MA, this is down to the Premier League, Masters in his new position is just a patsy for his bosses, who are clearly not looking at the bigger picture, who don’t want an other Norther club to be a contender for titles. I believe MA is a willing seller.
Mick Cidella(Quote)