What's gannin on Mike?Still nothing on the takeover and some reports have indicated that Ashley has not set a deadline for completion, although I think it’s reasonable to assume that some sort of deadline will eventually be set to allow him time to do some work on the transfer market if he has to keep the club.
As we know, the press often claim to have ‘sources’ giving them the inside story on these things, but there seem to be lots of contradictory opinions about this takeover and I doubt the validity of these ‘sources’ even more than usual given the strict non-disclosure agreements signed by Ashley and the bidders.
For example, depending upon what you read, Barry Moat is either the only bidder with a hope of taking over Newcastle United or he’s way out of the running and instead two unnamed bidders are much more in contention.
As to the manager situation, for all we know a lot of that could be a ploy by Ashley to make it look like he’s serious about staying on if necessary, sending a message to potential bidders that they’d better not wait until the last minute in the hope that he’ll lose his nerve and accept a low bid.
Then again, he certainly will need a manager if he doesn’t sell, so sounding out various managers is no bad idea anyway.
What I’m really saying is that I think a lot of what the press are writing is a load of old toot and we may as well just wait for something official. (more…)
Smith - Toon enforcer?Predictably, a lot of the chat has been about the suggestion that an Iranian tycoon called Sirous Mahjoob is bidding for Newcastle United and may (re)install Kevin Keegan as manager.
Much doubt has been cast on whether this chap actually exists in the first place, let alone whether or not he’s bidding for the club. In general it’s the red-tops and Sky that seem to have been running with this story, although few of the broadsheets and local papers have touched it.
But let’s see what other news is around.
According to The Chronicle, Alan Smith has been laying down the law to players following the 6-1 defeat by Orient. Yesterday he said:
“Some people have made it public that they want to go, while others have got their head down.
“That is entirely up to the individual.
“We won’t have a go at anybody if they want to go.
“But they must cross that white line and give 100% when they wear a Newcastle shirt.
“We won’t have any qualms if they walk away if they get a better offer elsewhere.
“Every player in the dressing room last night, whether they want to stay or go, gave 100% and we cannot have any complaints.” (more…)
Signpost for S********d (Recently that is….) Just how sneaky and devious can the Makems really be? For instance, could they have infiltrated Iranian media to spread malicious rumours and create a second take-over hoax?
I imagine the search keys ‘Sirous Mahjoob’, ‘Toon takeover’ and the F5 key have been seriously hammered today. And yet we seem to be no further forward on whether this is legit.
The current opinion is the The Sun picked the story up from the Iranian media and ran with it and since other papers and sites have piggy-backed off it. The story isn’t given much credence because for a start, there is no extensive knowledge of this guy despite furious trawling of the internet. Also, the rumour contains the suggestion that they’d want KK back which sounds a bit far-fetched. (more…)
Is new suitor a right Charlie?While we shared the luck of the Irish in our recent pre-season game against the mighty Shamrock Rovers reserves, it seems Irish eyes were smiling in our direction.
According to reports, Charlie Chawke, formerly a shareholder at the geographically-challenged down the A19 is making advances on the club. Chawke recently sold his shares to Ellis Short after being part of the Drumaville consortium which bought S********d three years ago.
And as an interesting(?) alternative to the usual ‘insiders’ and gossip-mongers, Irish broadcaster RTE actually has quotes from the man himself –
“We’re trying to put together a syndicate interested in football and then investing with us in Newcastle,” Chawke told Irish broadcaster RTE. “Newcastle would fit very nicely into our portfolio. It is a great club.” (more…)
Unwashed tramp, Richard Parker yesterday. “Rick Parkinson”, who issued a press release declaring an interest in bidding for Newcastle United has now revealed himself as Sunderland supporter, Richard Parker. The unwashed tramp from Wearside cruelly posed as a £250 million textile baron and offshore investor from Ponteland, and declared an interest in buying the club for £90 million. He went on to declare his intentions to turn Newcastle United into a fan’s trust and reinstall Alan Shearer as manager with a £30 million transfer kitty.
