Going in reverse order, SNP MP John Nicolson raised the issue with culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, during a meeting of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee, where he raised the issue of Saudi Arabia’s frankly abysmal human rights record, though Dowden swiftly passed the buck on to The Premier League, saying that it was a matter for them and not Downing Street. (more…)
A Saudi Arabian-funded consortium is set to complete a £300 million takeover and will pump in significant resources to try and establish the Magpies as a force in the Premier League.
We take a closer look at four key areas Newcastle’s new owners must address if they are to deliver success to the North East’s biggest club.
Steve Bruce has done a reasonable job as manager in difficult circumstances, but he is not the man to take the club forward. (more…)
“Seriously thinking of buying the British Newcastle United football club.”
The report goes on to say that:
“He has finalized all conditions that enable him to acquire the club by next week. The actual negotiations with Newcastle owner Mike Ashley will be clear.”
Next week! Oooh er! Sounds a bit more positive than Ashley’s player negotiations!
However the story then takes a slightly absurd turn when the writer of the piece then added something of his own, writing:
“Ashley has wanted to sell the club since 2009. He bought the club known as “Magpies” in 2007 for £134.4 million and it is said that he is willing to sell it for less than £80 million.” (more…)
The question that has to be asked then, is, “How attractive is Newcastle United for a takeover?”
If you imagine yourself as a potential investor of NUFC you have to admit that it does look an attractive business move. A huge loyal fan base, who despite their misgivings of the current ownership are relatively content at the moment. All the club debt is out in the open, in a manageable way and is a relatively small given the revenue of the club. The team is playing well and we are flying high in the leagues and cup competitions, if we had beaten West Brom last season we would have only been a few places short of Europe.
Once that debt is cleared (hopefully in a few years) provided we continue to reside in the Premier League we could prove to be quite profitable on a long term investment.
The relegation was fantastic for a new potential owner; all the dead wood and high earners are almost out of Tyneside (Alan Smith I’m looking at you) with a new sensible wage structure and transfer policy in place. I’d argue that maybe another £20 million in transfer fees to get us a new Striker and Right Back / Centre Back would set the team up for a few years; our squad is not in need of a complete overhaul as we have a relatively young squad. (more…)