The return of Mike Ashley to watching Newcastle United’s games this season is a sign that talks with Peter Kenyon have fallen through and the silence should be broken over the owner’s future soon, according to journalist Mark Douglas.
The reliable Chronicle journalist claims in a live question and answer on the newspaper’s blog (13/02, 17:08) that he is confident the club will break the silence sooner rather than later regarding the status of a potential takeover and what the future holds for the club.
He wrote: “Ashley was being pressed by people inside the club to clarify what comes next for Newcastle now that the talks with Peter Kenyon have flat-lined. My understanding is that he accepted there was a need to speak publicly, either through a statement or – hopefully – through an interview.
“I am relatively confident that we’ll be hearing from the club hierarchy sooner rather than later. His return to games since January – although he has not been at St James’ Park for a while – is a sign that the Kenyon talks are over.”
The Magpies have been up for sale for over a year now and while Ashley is said to still be looking for potential investors to take over from him, the relegation battle means it seems unlikely to take place any time soon.
Opinion
Not the news that Newcastle United fans wanted to hear but really it is hardly surprising for those on Tyneside. The Magpies’ troubles, which has left them languishing near the bottom of the pile in the Premier League, is hardly tempting anyone to come in and splash the cash and until they can confirm they will be playing among England’s elite next season there is not going to be any progress on a potential deal. Of course, it does give investors like Kenyon more time to round up funding and be prepared to launch a rapid-fire move as and when the time is right but until then the club need to come out and speak to the fans just to give them an update. There is nothing worse than being kept in the dark, although the Toon Army are probably used to that by now with Ashley having been in charge for over a decade. Hopefully for the St James’ Park faithful they get someone a little more transparent at the top when Ashley does eventually leave.