I'm more and more convinced that my joke months ago about Ashely's takeover being some multigenerational Mackem plot to destroy the club was somehow correct.
After weeks of hearing nothing, apparently a takeover is very close now.* Also heard that FFS is involved but is not the main player in the consortium. Hurrah for renewed enthusiasm.... *This is what I've heard from a good friend that used to work at SJP and hears things from time to time. (I know this sounds like bollocksy "ITK" stuff we've seen a lot of already this summer).
Keep in mind it's Sunday, but the People had a story (by Alan Oliver, of all people) that reported Llambias as saying no one had met the 100m asking price, less than a couple weeks after he said that there were at least two offers exceeding that very amount. Is it bad that I'm tempted to believe the press over the chairman?
Unless somebody has 100m in a bank right now to plop down, it's going to take a while because of credit markets. I think anybody lending money is looking at Platini and what he wants to propose and is very leery of any team bouncing back into the Premiership. It just goes to show how much Ashley ********ed this up. God, I hate that guy so much.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/8172201.stm McMahon told the Evening Chronicle: "We have pulled out. How long can you keep hanging on? "We have put a bid in two weeks ago and we had had no communication, no response - nothing. "It really is poor form from Newcastle, but if that's the way they want to run their business, good luck to them." Ashley wants to stay in charge. He is basically hoping they get a fast start to the season. Then he will come out and announce he is staying on.
Yep it does look as though Ashley wants to stay in charge. We should also not forget that when Ashley put the club up for sale we were told that NUFC will be sold on a first come first serve basis for whoever met the asking price. However three parties were said to have met that price, and then what followed was a very long wait/silence which indicated that Ashley was either wanting a bidding war to get started or he was simply no longer interested in selling. If Ashley is going to sell the club he will probably wait untill the club gets promoted back to the EPL, this so that he can flog it at a price more closer to what he payed for it.
George Caulkin's report on the Profitable Group pulling out. Apparently they never proved they had the funds, so weren't given access to the books. Not to say the club isn't well and truly in the shit, but the Profitable Group 'pulling out' doesn't make the situation worse. They seem to be more concerned with publicity than anything else. As for Ashley secretly planning to stay on, it makes no sense (as with most of the things he's done since buying the club, but stay with me here). In all reality he's probably holding out for a massive bid that just isn't coming. Whereas I'd agree that he'd get a better price if he got the club promoted back to the PL, he seems to have neither the fight, inclination or ability to make that happen. He's just a buffoon. I don't see some secret intent in the background, just incompetence.
Ashley won't be able to sell because he's got too many conditions to the asking price. Anyone who will buy for 100m will probably still have to service the 100m loan payable to Ashley at a time of his choosing, plus the remaining transfer fees to be paid and that overhead owed to Barclays. Basically any buyer will (this is me conjecturing, no itk sources or whathaveyou) have to pay closer to 250m, and no one's going to do that for Newcastle. Ashley has lost all his money, basically, so what I sense will is that eventually he'll have to transfer the debt to Sports Direct and put the club into administration. It's the only way he as the chief creditor gets the most bang for his buck. He'll gamble on us getting back to the Premier League, but I don't foresee that happening with the current group. There was a link yesterday to a story discussing things to that effect too, but I can't be bothered to find it frankly.
I still think Ashley wants to go into administration. There are others who know the rules better than me, but I had the impression that if this happens, he will no longer have to pay the fat wages some are still receiving (in addition to wiping out some of the debt). OTOH, if the club goes into administration, wouldn't someone be able to buy the club with the administrator being able to accept a bid instead of Ashley?
In theory, yes. But if the club goes into receivership then the administrators would offload assets in order to repay the creditors (e.g., Ashley) first and make the club solvent. Then, theoretically, Ashley himself could come back with the best financial package and repurchase the club for pennies on the dollar. Look at what Ken Bates did with Leeds, for instance.
Doesn't it also mean we lose 10pts automatically, which kills our chances of being promoted. Who wants to buy a club with no chance of promotion.
It doesn't kill it necessarily but it definitely makes it tough. But if we were to go into administration it would probably attract an owner that was in it for the long haul, not someone like Ashley just looking to make a buck. Unless it's Ashley who buys it back, in which case I'll wonder if I've already died and gone to hell.
New buyer linked with us now. NUFCblog has it from the Sun. I was already skeptical and after reading this article on arabianbusiness.com I am pretty convinced this is a really bad idea or just a stupid joke.
The Sun usually isn't worth responding to, but Keegan 3.0 is an awful idea. Not quite as bad as Ashley retaining control, mind.
In this day and age, there is no way to compete for Champions League Soccer without a very rich very aggressive individual running the show. Oh........crap, forgot we have to worry about getting back into the Premier League before that's an issue. Nevermind.
I might add that a quick google search on the guy's name turned up nothing. EDIT: After further review, I have to believe the Mahjoob story is yet another windup.
"It should be sorted next week" would be a few times now, I think. Not to mention that SP would be meeting with buyers, not Llamaballs. An update on the Serious Manboobs search: ArabianBusiness has a reference to an ILNA interview that, to the best of my leet interwebz haxx cannot be found, and a facebook entry for a "Sirous Mahjoob" has a picture of the aforementioned Llamaballs. Clearly a piss-take on a number of levels.
Just when I thought I couldn't hate these ********ers anymore. We're NINE ********ING DAYS AWAY FROM THE START OF THE SEASON
Wow, time goes fast. I suppose it doesn't matter because it's not like I'll be able to watch any of the games. Hell, maybe that's a good thing.
Ashley and Co Gone Sure it's almost certainly a hoax, but its a slow day, and any glimmer of hope is welcome. I sort of like the fact that there is no supporting evidence. I'm even willing to say it is more believeable because someone has not attached almost- credible details to it.
We need a clock of doom countdown. My goals for this season. 1. avoid relegation 2. avoid administration 3. new ownership group 4. avoid KK