Barry MoatThe Guardian reports that the sale of Newcastle United is imminent.
Apparently Ashley is being urged to accept a bid from a consortium led by Tyneside businessman Barry Moat. It is thought that Moat, who has financial backing from investors in the United States, is Keith Harris’s preferred bidder. The Guardian speculates that if Moat gets the club he will favour Alan Shearer as manager.
Additional reports on this issue can be found in The Times, The Chronicle, The Journal and The Sun, but I would suggest remaining cautious about this news until a formal announcement is made from the club. There is no guarantee that Ashley will accept any bid recommended by Harris (assuming the stories are true in the first place).
There were reports yesterday that the club had, incredibly, offered Joe Kinnear a two-year contract. This was covered last night in an article on this site, so I don’t really need to mention it too much here except to say that there’s an article in The Times that claims the club is denying offering Kinnear a contract and insists ‘he has his wires crossed’. (more…)
Will Toon be walking in a Kinnear wonderland once again?In an interview with the BBC’s ‘Radio Five Live’, Joe Kinnear has sensationally claimed that Mike Ashley has offered him another two year contract at the club, and added that he is “mulling it over”. He also added that it would still take another three months to fully recover from his triple heart bypass, performed after he complained of severe hypertensive symptoms during last season’s visit to West Bromwich Albion. Joe said:
“I have been offered a two-year contract and it is something I am mulling over at the present time.
“I have told Mike I am not going to go back to football for at least another three months and we will look at the situation then.
“I told him I would refuse to go back for pre-season friendlies as I was not up to it for medical reasons.
“I needed to take time out and re-assess the situation and take it from there. But obviously in another three months the picture might be completely different.
“In the meantime if Newcastle feel the need to go and get another manager then so be it.” (more…)
Bassong fined, but leaving anyway.According to The Chronicle, Bassong has been fined two weeks wages for his failure to travel to Dundee for last weekend’s friendly. Hughton had previously stated that Bassong wouldn’t have featured in the game anyway because he’s serving a ban for the West Brom trip and Hughton wanted to field a team against Dundee that was as close as possible to the one he intends to field for our opening league game.
To be honest I can see both sides of this: Bassong is obviously frustrated by things at Newcastle – perhaps particularly in relation to any transfer he might want – but as of right now he’s contracted to Newcastle United and should behave professionally and in accordance with his manager’s wishes.
Anyway, The Mail claims that all this has moved Bassong’s exit closer and that he has a preference for Spurs over Man City. (more…)
Hughton fears more players will go.Chris Hughton has told the BBC that he fears he will lose more players while the sale of the club drags on. He said:
“Possibly we might end up losing one or two more.
“Where we are at the moment, there’s always going to be speculation about the players.”
Additional players certainly will need to be given the push if we’re to get the wage bill under control. We’ve lost Owen, Viduka, Edgar and Martins, which must have had a fair impact on wages already, and we’re looking likely to lose Bassong and possibly Beye.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we lost Geremi, Enrique, Jonas, Colo, Barton (if anyone will have him) and possibly Smith too. If all those did go then we might just have a manageable wage bill, although we’d need to buy in some less-costly replacements.
Hughton goes on to say:
“Everybody is aware the owner is trying to sell the club. (more…)
Martins gone.Newcastle managed only a goalless draw last night against Leeds United. According to the Club Site, Ryan Taylor had the best opportunities for the home team before the break, with Bassong and Coloccini having the best opportunities in the second half. The Northern Echo contains a better report.
As reported by my colleague, it appears that the transfer embargo – if there ever was one – has been lifted and Obafemi Martins has been sold to Wolfsburg for £9m. There’s a report on Sky Sports but it mentions little beyond what I’ve already told you.
I wonder if this is Ashley facing the prospect of not selling the club before the transfer window closes and deciding he needs to starting getting things done himself. Or maybe it indicates that a new owner has been found who, whilst the legalities of a takeover are completed, has authorised some transfers in the interim.
On the subject of transfers, The Mail is claiming that Spurs will beat Arsenal to the signing of Seb Bassong with an £8m offer for the defender. (more…)
