Mark Douglas of the Chronicle Live has been discussing the proposed takeover of Newcastle United during a recent edition of the Everything is Black and White podcast.
After the Premier League revealed last week that they were involved in a legal battle with the club, the Magpies released a statement to confirm they have launched legal proceedings against the governing body following the collapse of the Saudi-backed takeover earlier this year.
With the possibility of the saga rumbling on for a while yet, the journalist provided some insight into why, in his view, the club have moved to confirm they are taking action now. Here is what he had to say:
“They’ve ignored plenty of things in the past, but they chose to go in on this one and I think that’s partly because they want to make it clear that they’re still fighting for the takeover. Because all sides want to show to the Saudi PIF that this is still viable, because, you know, let’s be honest, if they walk away, and you know, they might well do, obviously, they already have officially walked away, it might sort of dismiss it and [they might] think that there’s no point in sort of hanging on if they don’t feel there’s any viable path to getting this takeover done.”
“So I think it’s Mike Ashley’s kind of sign to them, that there’s still something happening because he’s desperate to sell it [to the] Saudi PIF.”
Do you still think the Saudi-backed takeover could go through?
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TIF Thoughts on Mark Douglas’ comments regarding Newcastle United’s actions…
It’s clear that Douglas feels the club’s latest move comes as an attempt to keep the Saudi-backed consortium interested in a potential deal. Either way, whether a deal is able to be completed or not, we can assume that many of the St. James’ Park faithful have become frustrated and tired of the whole situation.
The Magpies were beaten by Frank Lampard’s Chelsea at the weekend and as a result, dropped to 15th place in the Premier League. Although in our view, the takeover issue shouldn’t necessarily have a direct impact on the performances of the current squad, the uncertainty around the entire club can’t be helpful.