The Bellagraph Nova Group in Paris.As Phaedrus once wrote:“Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many; the intelligence of a few perceives what has been carefully hidden.”
I have thought of Phaedrus’s wisdom more than once when investigating prospective new owners of Newcastle United. Who can forget Rick Parker’s infamous Mackem ‘fakeover‘ where a Sunderland supporting scallywag posed as ‘Richard Parkinson,’ a £250 million textile baron and offshore investor from Ponteland who declared an interest in buying the club for £90 million, promising to turn Newcastle United into a fan’s trust and reinstalling Alan Shearer as manager with a large transfer kitty. Then there was Barry Moat, the mysterious ‘Capital Group’ and several others… (more…)
Both good and bad?When Mike Ashley rode into toon he took the Freddy Shepherd Gang by surprise. Shepherd claims he was ambushed while he lay incapacitated on a hospital bed and before we knew it rumour quickly became fact and Ashley had bought Newcastle United, not exactly with a suitcase full of money but without any of the this due diligence nonsense that troubles most businessmen.
Thus began a new era in the club’s history and it’s one that has managed to divide fans almost throughout. The partisan divisions – often drawn along the lines of Ashley v Keegan – are, in my opinion, unnecessary. I believe it’s perfectly possible for a person to do some good things and some bad things and I don’t believe Mike Ashley is any different in that respect. With rumours once more circulating about the sale saga nearing a close I wanted to try and take a balanced view of Ashley’s time at Newcastle.
One of the main things I thank Mike Ashley for is prising the club away from Freddy Shepherd. I’ve heard arguments suggesting that we wouldn’t have been relegated if Shepherd had remained in charge and maybe that’s true, but I believe the club would have been in dire straits financially. (more…)
Rumours "not true"According to The Chronicle, they were contacted by one of their ‘usually reliable sources’ who said that one interested group had reached written agreement about buying the club and ‘other sources’ close to Sheard’s American bidders said that the deal is close to crossing the finishing line.
Both Derek Llambias and Seymour Pierce deny these rumours though, simply stating that they’re “not true”. Jonathon Brill – Ashley’s excellent PR man – just said that “talks are ongoing”.
Whilst I know the press do manage to bribe secure reliable sources sometimes, they don’t appear to have done so when it comes to anything to do with the Toon takeover situation.
The whole thing has be plagued by one unreliable rumour after another and it hasn’t been helped by the blatant publicity-seeking exhibited by some consortia under the guise of supposed bids.
My guess is that Sheard’s bid is a non-starter, just like those of The Profitable Group, Graham Roberts and Freddy Shepherd. In fact I think Moat’s bid is the only one that’s likely to be (or have been) a serious contender. (more…)
40,000 crowds help MoatThe 40,000 crowds we’ve been getting at home games could help Barry Moat’s attempts to take over Newcastle United Football Club.
According to a recent article in The Journal, Moat’s original business plan was based on the Toon attracting 25,000 for home games. I have no idea how The Journal knows that but if we assume it’s true for a minute then the 15,000 additional fans we’ve been attracting could provide leverage for Moat in his negotiations with Barclays about the overdraft.
To be honest, I still wonder what the actual cost of the club will be to Moat or any other potential buyer. We know Ashley’s asking £100m and it has been suggested that the club has drawn £20m on it’s £40m overdraft facility but it’s still not clear to me what happens about the £100m Ashley loaned to the club to clear the debts. (more…)
Thumbs-up for MoatThe Telegraph is claiming that talks between the club and Barry Moat are scheduled and that a deal could be agreed imminently. The key word in that sentence is ‘could‘ though, so let’s wait and see how it actually turns out.
The Telegraph’s claims do seem at odds with Keith Harris’s last statement on matters, which seemed to indicate that no deal was ‘imminent’ and that things would just bubble along until Chrismas or beyond.
Ashley did of course extend the deadline to give Moat more time to put the deal together and it seems to me that this deal is the only one with any chance at all of succeeding. But those chances seemed remote at best as Moat was reported to be struggling to meet Ashley’s £100m price and sort out the overdraft with Barclays.
However, let’s not forget that all this talk of Moat’s financial inadequacy has arisen from press speculation with very few quotes from anyone who might actually be in the know. Having said that, the current article in The Telegraph is the same in that respect. (more…)
