Why the arrival of Amanda Staveley could be a game changer for NUFC and Rafa Benitez
Further developments have come to light this week with regards to the latest possible takeover talk of NUFC. It’s early days but after years of frustration under Ashley's reign, it's hard not to get too excited. It could potentially release the chains attached from the Ashley era, enabling us to believe we'd finally have some ambitious owners to take us to the next level.
Rumours are that Amanda Staveley would be the figure head of a takeover and backed by £28 billion firm, PCP Capital partners from the Middle East. Articles ran in the Chronicle this week explaining how the Middle East is very competitive regarding football, with the only nation there without a top football club in Europe being Saudi Arabia. It could be that investors there are looking for a new club, apparently we are one of three English clubs being considered, to rival the likes of Manchester City.
If this was to come off, and it’s a big if, what would be the potential impact for NUFC?
NUFC competing for top players again
Investment and finance rules modern football and this is what we are lacking under Ashley. It is almost impossible, Leicester aside, to break into the top 4 without serious financial muscle.
A new owner like PCP would certainly give us that opportunity. It would have to be like Man City, where we build gradually but it would just be so refreshing to see us showing ambition in the transfer market again and have a free spending window similar to that of Everton's this summer. Arguably, we have not had that since Freddy Shepherd was in charge, with his club record signing of Michael Owen yet to be beaten by Ashley.
Keeping Benitez
The major positive of recent years being a Newcastle fan has been the arrival and work of current manager, Rafa Benitez. Rafa is ambitious and has big plans for Newcastle. He will not be happy battling relegation next season even - he'll want year on year progression and I imagine that includes getting Newcastle United back into the Champions League. It may sound a million miles away at the moment, but with ambitious new owners, big investment, a top class manager and a city that lives and breathes football, the sky could be the limit.
As a fan, it’s great having a manager of this calibre and expectation, but there will come a time when Ashley has to catch up before Rafa finds a new club who will match his ambition. A new takeover could solve this and keep Rafa at SJP.
Uniting the fans further - turning hope into a reality?
Another major positive has been the unity of the fans under Bentiez. We have a common goal, the atmosphere is far better at games, we sell out games and initiatives like Gallowgate flags have been a fantastic addition to match days. The only thing that could unite the fans further would be confirmation Rafa is staying, all the speculation of him leaving naturally causes unrest and gives the press an angle to publish click bait content about NUFC, usually negative. A takeover would be a game changer as keeping Rafa would allow us to move forward together, with hope for the future.
The latest takeover talk is exciting and one NUFC fans will be keen to learn more about over the coming weeks. As always though, the caveat is that this is Mike Ashley and a spanner in the works is usually not far away. The club has been on the market for a while with no buyers, so his asking price is clearly too high. The new TV deal may have just made us an attractive proposition despite the asking price; and Staveley must have been impressed with the atmosphere and unity on display at the weekend.
Here is hoping for some positive news soon, so we can all get excited about the future again.
