Regurgitation of the same old news. Nobody will know anything until its officially announced. As its nufc, I expect it to go wrong anyway.
The only thing worse than having no hope (feels like us at moment) is having some hope and having it taken away.
Leaked letter This from the Daily Telegraph... *** The British government has made supportive noises about the Saudi-backed takeover of Newcastle United, but in a leaked letter has insisted it cannot be involved in the Premier League’s vetting process. The Premier League has spent ten weeks carrying out investigations into the £300 million takeover, which has been complicated by the fact that the league has made numerous legal complaints about Saudi-based TV piracy of its matches. The government has been urged by human rights campaigners and politicians to block the sale but has refused to step in.
Anyone watch the bbc2 documentary House of Saud? Disgraceful if Premier league deem them fit and proper
As an undeniably biased NUFC fan I'm borderline on it really. My main stance is that I wish foreign investment hadn't been courted by clubs in the first place (obviously that cat is out of the bag from decades gone now) as it dilutes any feelings of fans morally owning clubs and makes the entire process more business like. I don't like Ashley and I want him out of NUFC but I do respect that we are well run and since he stopped making any real comments about us he's been a better than average owner. I'd prefer other buyers though. As regards the Premier League I'm not sure where they can go with the test nowadays. Once they allowed Abramovic (who was imprisoned for stealing from his government, has admitted in court to paying out billions in bribes and said himself that you only get to the top of the aluminium business in Russia by murdering those in your way - he got top...) it sets a tone of "if you have enough money then you're welcome". Do I think SA should be allowed to buy NUFC? No, I think it should be blocked. Will i be annoyed if an example is made? A bit, they should have done this a long time ago. Will i celebrate IF we get bought out and IF we win something? Of course, 99% of fans would i reckon. What I'm expecting now is that it will be refused, it's very high profile and the EPL will look to save face (nothing to do with moral objections, etc). I then expect the same investors to buy another club using another investment vehicle (like being the money behind a different figure-head) and for that to just go through.
A fair post I'd say, and I'd agree with a lot of it, apart from being happy if the deal goes through, which in the end I'm sure that it will. Money always talks. I'll say what I might have said on here already, that if that money was buying us I'd never go again. Easy to say, but I mean it. I would not envy any club whose supporters are obliged to became stooges for a pretty evil and backward looking regime with absolutely no genuine interest in football or the North East, and with a proven hostility to the West and it's values. If you were to be taken over by the Rueben Bros on their own, I'd envy you mind. They will hardly be saints in living form with their money, but that's a different thing to being an arm of an odious government.
The recent noises (BeIN being sold in Saudi Arabia in the past few days, the communications from SA about fighitng piracy) do sound like something is in the offing but could also mean that a) they're bricking it as they think they're about to be rejected by the Premiership b) it may have nothing to do with the take-over and just be a response to the WTO findings last week. There's a lot of 2+2= guesswork here.and I'll believe it if it happens and not a moment before. As regards if it does happen there's no reason to think they'll spend like Mansour did. The noises were more around having a sustainable Premiership club rather than ploughing in silly money to try and win things. As it's turned out under Ashley and Bruce we are currently a sustainable Premiership club anyway and I'd be confident we weren't going down next season anyway so I'm not convinced the take-over would make as much difference as some suspect (though the extra advertising and sponsorship revenue plus the merchandising being run through the club rather than siphoned off to sports direct would surely add £10m+ a year to the coffers alone)
