An unlikely story That’s what The Daily Star claims anyway.
Basically what they’re saying is that Moat can’t get the money together to buy the club but Ashley plans to take the club off the market and appoint him as chairman. Moat will then apparently appoint Shearer as manager and take charge of the day-to-day running of the club with Ashley taking a back seat.
The Star then goes on to say that Shearer plans to bring £6m rated Michael Chopra back to the Toon as his first signing.
And all this will happen within the next 48 hours.
The Star’s short article contains no direct quotes from anyone, not even from unnamed ‘sources’ or ‘insiders’, so the temptation is to treat the story with as much scorn as the one about Naughty Noirin’s views on how to save Big Brother (not that I’ve read it of course). (more…)
Bale - possible loan target? Apparently Gary Megson wants to take Kevin Nolan back to Bolton, or at least that’s what The Mirror is saying. We paid Bolton £4m for the midfielder in January and his £40k/week wages might be seen as reason enough to let him go in the current phase of cost-cutting at the Toon.
I wasn’t particularly impressed with Nolan’s contributions to the team last season but this season he looks much better, although I admit that’s probably to be expected now that we’re down a league. Nolan has even scored a couple this season, including the winning goal in last night’s 4-3 romp against Huddersfield (for which we have match reports here and here).
It’s not all bad news though because the BBC claimed last night that Gareth Bale could be on his way to Newcastle from Spurs. When we sold them Bassong it was rumoured that one or two loan signings from Spurs were on the cards and this could be one of them.
The Welsh under-21 international made his professional debut for Southampton in 2005-06 and scored 5 goals in 45 games before transferring to Spurs in May 2007. Bale usually plays as either a left back or left winger, so he could be seen as a replacement for either Enrique or Jonas if either should be sold this season. (more…)
The bank that might like to say noMuch speculation has ensued after yesterday’s announcement that the club is giving Barry Moat more time to negotiate an overdraft facility with Barclays Bank.
Our favourite mackem Louise Taylor demonstrates surprising knowledge of the club’s confidential banking details, which form the crux of her latest article in The Guardian.
According to Ms Taylor and her inevitable ‘sources’, we have a £40m overdraft facility, on which we currently owe £20m. On Tuesday Barclays were planning to renew that facility but with only a £10m limit, which is in line with what they usually allow for Championship clubs.
Apparently Ashley has the funds to cover the £10m shortfall but – The Guardian claims – Moat does not and if he can’t persuade Barclays to break with their Championship-lending policies and allow him to have a £20m overdraft, then his takeover effort will fail. (more…)
Time to say goodbye?Well if Carlsberg did a line in anti-climax then today’s official statement would be a great start. A collective holding of breath over the weekend, enough to cause a Toon Army Tsunami on release, had us all exhaling in disappointment at the progress report announcing that….well there is no progress really, just another extension on the deadline. But we’re used to it by now, right?
Nothing to report then? Well not strictly true, depending on how you interpret the message and it still managed to get tongues wagging. The statement reads as follows –
NEWCASTLE United Football Club confirms that it has extended its deadline to Barry Moat to table an offer for the Club.
The extension has been granted in order to allow Barry Moat and his advisors to conclude funding arrangements with Barclays, current bankers, for the continuation of last season’s £39m facility.
This would allow a formal offer to be tabled
So what does it mean exactly?
Well crucially, it potentially means Moat can’t be too far away from the finishing line if his business plan has enough credibility to get to this stage. The key word in the second paragraph is conclude, which suggests there is merely a decision left to be made by Barclays on whether or not they will continue to allow the overdraft facility based on Moat’s business plan. (more…)
The hopeful faithfulYoung or old, lad or lass, living just round the corner or at the other side of the world, if you’re a Newcastle fan then you’re in all the way. Over-the-moon one minute and kicked in the teeth the next, you learn to deal with adversity early on or you sink with the tide of pessimism. That’s what being a Mag is all about, it’s what being a football supporter is all about. Dealing with the swings and roundabouts and dealing with the cliches (ahem).
Life as a Newcastle fan is never dull and the last two years have been a prime example of how the club can leave you in despair. It brings out the best and worst in us. It means so much to us that it fills almost our every living moment and not least our dreams of future glory. Yet we find ourselves with the soul of the club ripped out and fans fighting amongst themselves, such is the torment of recent events. And still inexplicably, the fans with no reason other than the love for their club turn up in their thousands. Pilloried for their loyalty but proud of their faith in something which will always mean more than winning trophies and trading one-up-manships with rival supporters. (more…)
