Mark Douglas has been on a recent episode of the Everything is Black and White Podcast, and he has been discussing the failed takeover of Newcastle United.
One of the topics that Douglas spent some time on amid talk of Amanda Staveley’s failed takeover bid was the role of Mike Ashley in all of this.
Douglas’ comments on Ashley came after it was reported that he is considering legal action and that he is ‘100% committed’ to finding a solution to this takeover situation.
This is what he said on Ashley and the possibility of him taking legal action:
“I am kind of wary of the idea that Mike Ashley is going to charge in as a white knight, because I think he’ll be boxing smart on this.
“He’ll be taking advice; he’ll be wanting to know whether there’s a chance of winning if he deploys his legal big guns; I don’t think he’s going to do that and just waste a load of money if he doesn’t feel there’s an endgame to that.”
However, Douglas did then back up claims that Ashley does want to sell the club and is committed to the deal with Staveley’s consortium.
“I think he’s obviously an ally, he’s on record a couple of weeks ago saying he’s fully committed to this deal, and it’s accurate, even Sky Sports’ story was correct – he is still in consultation.
“And I know for a fact from speaking to the consortium that they believe that he’s not been an impingement to this deal.”
So, though Douglas cannot see Ashley launching legal action unless it was guaranteed to win, he does believe that the Newcastle owner is still committed to the takeover and wants it to happen.
Do you think Ashley will use legal action?
Yes, if he has to, he will
No, he doesn't even want to sell the club
TIF Thoughts…
Ashley stated, via Lee Charnley, that when the deal was withdrawn, he was still ‘100% committed’ to it, and it seems that judging by his actions, that is indeed the case, with the current owner thought to be personally trying to resolve the issue, as per Sky Sports.
However, Douglas is not as sure on the reports that he is readying legal action just yet, so we will have to see if the Toon owner does go down that road.