Newcastle United writer Liam Kennedy recently joined Steve Wraith on the NUFC Matters YouTube show, in which they discussed a number of subjects with regards to the Premier League club.
One of these was the legal battle currently taking place between the Premier League and NCSL (Newcastle Consortium Supporters Ltd). After requesting a further 14 days to reply to the NCSL’s Letter Before Action, the league have now responded via their solicitors (via the Shields Gazette).
The Saudi-backed consortium pulled out of the proposed takeover back in July after lengthy delays with regards to the owners’ and directors’ test. As a result, NCSL are questioning the conduct of the league.
Although Kennedy explained that the whole thing could move “reasonably quickly”, he added that the Premier League may seek to delay things as long as possible in a bid to test the buyers’ patience, here is what he had to say:
“It’s 100% true, that five months is the kind of deadline that we’re probably looking at here, and I think if that’s the case, then I think we probably could have a deal that remains on the table for that length of time while legal proceedings are ongoing.
“If it goes into years, then who knows, then we’re in the realms of not really knowing whether [the] buyer will walk away, [the] seller will get annoyed and not want to push it through, you just don’t know – that’s when the variables come in. But there is no reason to say this can’t go reasonably quickly. The one caveat – and this is a massive caveat, to be fair – is that the Premier League will do everything in their power to delay, delay and delay.”
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TIF Thoughts on Liam Kennedy’s comments regarding the legal battle between the Premier League and NCSL…
Kennedy’s remarks suggest that the prospective owners may be willing to wait for a few months in the hope the takeover can be given the green light, however, he clearly fears that the delays likely to be caused by the Premier League could force them to withdraw their interest completely.
Given that at the time the takeover looked as though it would be completed before long, there was much speculation with regards to Steve Bruce’s position, in our view, the 59-year-old has done incredibly well to not let this whole saga distract from the task at hand. The Magpies currently sit in 13th position in the English top flight, eight points clear of the drop zone and just a point behind Manchester City in tenth.