John Gibson has been speaking on a recent edition of NUFC Matters with Steve Wraith and Malcolm Macdonald about all things concerning Newcastle United.
One of the topics that came up was the Toon’s proposed takeover after Newcastle Consortium Supporters Limited (NCSL) launched a legal challenge over the bid from PCP Capital Partners, PIF, and the Reuben brothers that was withdrawn in July.
This led Gibson to provide his view on the takeover, and it seems as if he is now not so sure about the deal happening and thinks that if it is going to happen, the fans or Mike Ashley are going to have to do something.
He said: “I am very suspicious of this deal being able to be resurrected.
“I think [the consortium] are still interested in the background, but the onus is probably on others to be able to make it happen, whether the others are Ashley through the courts [or] the Newcastle United supporters kicking up [a fuss].”
Do you agree with Gibson?
No, the takeover will happen
Yes, this takeover won't happen
TIF Thoughts on the takeover and Gibson’s view on it…
The legal challenge launched by the NCSL demanded a response from the Premier League, but they instead asked for more time to respond to the request made by the group, and the NCSL has rejected that.
This means that the legal challenge moves onto the next stage in the CAT (Competition Appeal Tribunal) process, so this looks like this group of Newcastle fans have taken on the onus to get the takeover through.
Mike Ashley also appointed two lawyers Nick De Marco and Shaheed Fatima, and they have been tasked with forcing through the takeover, so it looks like Ashley is also taking on the onus to try and get this takeover through.
Gibson, though, still seems unconvinced that this takeover will happen, but we will have to see if these legal challenges do achieve the aim of forcing the takeover through.