NUFC insider speaks out about Mike Ashley, £300m takeover & Steve Bruce on Sky Sports
Up until today, there's been practically nothing come from the club regarding a potential Saudi-backed takeover at St James' Park.
The silence has probably been golden - with no news often seen as good news - however some intriguing comments have emerged from Shola Ameobi today, with our 'loan manager' admitting he and others around the club are 'excited about all the noises they're hearing'.
Here's what he's told Sky Sports this morning, discussing the 'excitement' amongst staff, Mike Ashley's takeover wish and the potential for success at St James' Park should the 'right owners' arrive:
"We’re excited about all the noises that we’re hearing.
"Mike Ashley has wanted to sell the club for a number of years and it hasn’t quite materialised.
“Mike likes to do things discreetly, in his own way, as employees we don’t get to know any of that, so we’re just waiting and seeing what comes.
"The fans want to see investment poured into the club and if this does go ahead, there is a real excitement and buzz as to how and what could happen going forward.
"We have everything here - the fans, infrastructure and stadium - if we get the right owners who want to invest in the right way - the sky's the limit."
Considering Shola has always toed the line under the current regime, having regularly defended his boss Mike Ashley during previous appearances on Sky Sports, I wonder if his latest comments are a sign he knows a little bit more than he's letting on.
Shola then spoke about the prospective buyers' potential approach will if and when they arrive, urging them to keep Steve Bruce and avoid any rash decisions:
"I’m definitely a guy who doesn’t want to make rash decisions.
“I think Steve Bruce has done a terrific job here with what he’s had to work with.
“I think for me Steve is a manager who’s very experienced, for me, my advice would be to stay with what we have.
“Definitely if a new owner comes in they’ll want to know how the club runs and want to know what they’ve got in the club and for me it would be important to give stability to what we have here and then moving forward then you can make decisions once you know what it’s about.
“I would definitely for me would be calling for the new owners not to make any rash decisions and off the back of that start making the changes as and how they see fit."
He may well be relying on media updates and knows as much as us, but would he really come out and drop hints on a takeover, discuss the decisions they'll have to make, our potential as a club with them in charge and Steve Bruce's future on Britain's biggest sports channel if he hadn't been given the all clear to do so?
Based on his careful choice of wording during past appearances on Sky Sports, I don't think so.
