Sheffield Owls fans hoot with derision as Geoff Sheard enters Toon farce.

Posted on August 25th, 2009 | 31 Comments |

Uncle Fester meets Collina?
Uncle Fester meets Collina?
North West sports businessman, Geoff Sheard has sensationally entered the race (if you could call it that) to buy Toon. Sheard was also involved in a unsuccessful bid to buy fellow struggling giant, Sheffield Wednesday in 2008.

Newcastle United’s Managing director, Derek Llambias gave some substance to the reports when he confirmed that Sheard is in contact with Seymour Pearce’s Keith Harris, who is brokering the sale. Llambias said:

“Geoff is dealing with Keith Harris and we are still waiting for proof of funds.”

However, the Sheffield bid was a long drawn out affair with no satisfactory conclusion, and it emerged that Sheard for merely a figurehead for other, secret interests, and was putting no money of his own into the bid. Darryl Keys, then chairman of ‘Wednesdayite’, a Sheff Wed fans group with a 10% share of the club said at the time (in terms eerily familiar to Newcastle supporters at present):

“The club can’t stay in limbo forever. We’ve had lots of assurances but no clarity or verifiable evidence that he can conclude the deal.

“The longer it goes on, the more and more people feel it’s unlikely to happen. There’s a definite change in attitude among fans and the mood is now one of concern.”

Meanwhile, fans of ‘The Wednesday’ reacted to the Newcastle news with comments such as:

“I feel for them, I think we spent 6 months being fed ‘a matter of days’ for takeover completion. That’s what they’re about to get no doubt.

What a spanner.”

Sheard’s career in sport started when was employed at sportwear manufacturer, ‘ASICS’ in the ‘nineties, and continued when he ran a chain of sports shops, including the official club shop of Preston North End. He then went on to become a ‘consultant’ for golf company “Sockatyes” who manufacture sock tie ups for golf clubs. This brought him into contact with football agent, Phillip Morrison, who Sheard alleged was contacted by investors looking to buy into an English club. Sheard then alleged that Morrison asked him to find a club for the group of un-named investors, resulting in the failed Wednesday bid.

To end on a comedic note, it has also been speculated in some quarters that Sheard would be involved with American backers in a bid to bring David Beckham to Toon should he be successful.

NUFCBlog Author: workyticket workyticket has written 1095 articles on this blog.

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31 Responses

  4. The famous NDA? Sounds like a hooligan group taking secrecy to new levels. Congratulations, you’ve just met The Famous NDA but sssshh divn’t say owt to anyone!

  6. haha, nice headline (not on Sheard though).

    …would you trust this man? Not me. He just wants a bit of exposure, although with his light allergy that may prove problematic…

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAMgrvi-nwU

    …btw Worky, that ‘Live Football Scores’ ticker thing on the right causes my Mac all sorts of problems. REAAALLY slow to scroll up and down the page. Dunno if it’s just Firefox with Mac, or what.

    Laters…….

  8. Hugh,worky
    thanks for the info regarding loan deals. Still gonna leave us a bit short on numbers if we did get a few in. Finding the right quality is the key tho i suspect. Still desperate for a creative midfielder – is Di Santos of Spurs on loan somewhere already?

  9. Good article on NUFC.com, some worrying facts;

    With less than a week before the end of the transfer window, the current Newcastle United squad has now been depleted to dangerous levels as rumours of further departures circulate.

    Although our squad numbers go up to 49 (Sam Adjei), it may surprise you to learn that only 17 of our current squad have ever started a competitive first team game.

    That includes Danny Simpson (2), Tim Krul (1) and Xisco (4), leaving just 14 players who have started ten or more games for us.

    How many of those could you call defenders? Well we reckon four – Enrique, Simpson, Coloccini and Steven Taylor, the last two being rumoured to be on their way.

    There are no other defenders at the club who have played first team football, with makeshift right-back Ryan Taylor playing most of his football in midfield.

    Highest scorers in the current squad? Well, top of the list is easy enough – Shola Ameobi with 54 from his 255 games. So who’s next on the list…?

    That’s right, chief marksman and Forest Gump impersonator, Steven Taylor with nine first team goals. Hot on his heels is net-buster Nicky Butt with five Toon goals and we’re then down to Andy Carroll with three.

    A conservative estimate would say we’re ten players short of a competitive Championship squad and anyone harbouring thoughts of a Premier League return are taking the glass half-full analogy to extremes.

    Perhaps, like us, you’re looking at the ten points gained so far as contributing towards our relegation fight. This is set to be one almighty long slog in the second tier….

  11. I didn’t realise just how small the squad had become, i wan’t to be positive and the results had got me feeling like that but then i read something like that i think perhaps i am getting carried away. There is a massive step up from junior and reserve football to the 1st team, and as good as our youngsters might be it is unfair to pn our hopes on them.

  12. The squad size has always concerned me.

    I still think if Ashley stays we are in a relegation battle!

  13. I know mate. This is what I’ve been worried about since we sold Beye. I did all the maths on the squad we had at the end of last season, so when it got to around 5 out and none in I hit the panic button. Unfortunately NUFC don’t seem to have heard the alarm that’s still ringing. It’s an ongoing concern that gets worse each day.

    Ahhh well, ye can aaalways dream……….

  14. Stuart79 says:
    August 25, 2009 at 10:20 pm
    The squad size has always concerned me.

    I still think if Ashley stays we are in a relegation battle
    <<<< na stu even if hes stays and sells another 3 or 4 players w still stay up like

  15. it gets worse lads you have to remember we are probz the worst club in the country for injuries so a time may come when we have to play most of the ressies though with any luck well get a few loan players in and we play more games in the championship and we will be evrybodys cup final

    though if (in the unlikely event we get lucky with injuries)perhaps we can spend in jan that way we wont do a villa and will avoid running our players in to the ground

  19. Worky, this quote you’ve used:

    “I feel for them, I think we spent 6 months being fed ‘a matter of days’ for takeover completion. That’s what they’re about to get no doubt.

    What a spanner.”

    HAHAHAHAHA, right, believe me or not, I’ve just got to work and my WORKMATE just told me that nufcblog.org have used one of his quotes from the Owlstalk forum!

    You’ve quoted my mate!

    :D hahahaha

    mint.

    small world, again.

  20. geordie deb says:
    August 26, 2009 at 10:07 am

    “I rate George Caulkin as one of the only journalists to write reasoned articles on NUFC.”

    Are you sure Deb? Look closely. He’s still full of the usual old guff about “sources close to the negotiations”, “The Times understands” etc. Just because he packages it slightly more eloquently, that doesn’t mean it isn’t the same old speculative rubbish.

    Rod, tell your mate from me it was a great quote, and say thanks too!

  21. …cool, he said he was flattered that you quoted his words of wisdom, and even more pleased you quoted the word “spanner” :)

  22. Worky

    Yes this article doen’t have any direct quotes but I believe he is one of the most objective and reasoned hacks out of the swamp of bilge that is produced

  23. geordie deb says:
    August 26, 2009 at 11:48 am

    “Worky

    Yes this article doen’t have any direct quotes but I believe he is one of the most objective and reasoned hacks out of the swamp of bilge that is produced”

    Deb, it’s not so much the lack of direct quotes, it’s the use of the same hackneyed old devices in an attempt to deceive the reader that he knows more than he does.

    Rod, “spanner” was a perfect description of Sheard from what I’ve read about him!

  26. Yes, sorry guys. There really wasn’t any news when I got up this morning and I’ve been hard at work until stopping for lunch just now.

    Anyway, the ‘News Roundup’ articles have been discontinued for reasons of national security.

    The aim is to instead simply write articles on anything that crops up and I’ll pay particular attention to early-morning stuff, thus replacing the news roundup.

    Or somesuch.

  27. Hugh de Payen says:
    August 26, 2009 at 1:27 pm

    “Yes, sorry guys. There really wasn’t any news when I got up this morning”

    So make it up then, Hugh! :-)

    After a frantic round of phonecalls, I’m off up north soon to cover the game soon.

    Honestly, you just can’t get the staff these days!

  28. worky – will you be on email? Just in case my game gets called off. I’ll be going too if that’s the case.

    I’ll let you buy me a beer.

  30. bowburnmag says:
    August 26, 2009 at 1:48 pm

    “worky – will you be on email?”

    It’s a bit of a sore point at the moment, Bowburn. A tiny bit of plastic has come off the connector to charge my fancy internet fern, so it won’t charge. I’m wrestling with the problem as I type this message.

    Do give me an e.mail or text if you’re gannin’ though! I’ll send you my number in an e.mail.