Mike Ashley announced on Monday that he has put Newcastle United up for sale, as reported by MirrorSport.
The news will have been music to the ears of the St. James’ Park faithful who have been calling for his exit for a number of years now.
But what now for the club? We’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to club takeovers in this country so Ashley’s willingness to sell up may not necessarily mean the grass will be greener for the North East outfit.
And what about the future of Rafa Benitez? Will the new owners want to keep him in the hotseat and will he even get on with them in the first place?
Our writers have had their say on the subject below…
Olly Huddlestone
After 10 miserable years under Mike Ashley things could be about to get a lot brighter for Newcastle fans.
The Magpies have the ‘big club’ status but don’t have any recent silverware to back it – you’d have to go back to the 1955 FA Cup triumph for their last major trophy – however, with a new owner who has ambitions to turn them into a major power, an addition to the St James’ Park trophy cabinet may not be that far away.
As for Benitez, this can only be seen as a positive. The new owners wouldn’t have the agonising search for a world-class manager – they have one right under their noses.
Matt Law
Newcastle spent more than £35m on new players during the summer, but owner Mike Ashley was not prepared to fully back head coach Rafael Benitez in the transfer market.
It would be very interesting to see how far Benitez could take the Magpies if he was handed funds that other managers enjoy, in particular Ronald Koeman at Everton.
The Newcastle fans will be delighted with the latest developments as the future looks potentially extremely bright.
Matt Pegg
Newcastle have been crying out for stability for almost a decade now. In his time at the club, Ashley has fallen out with the fans and overseen two relegations.
What the Toon Army will be crying out for is a man whose ego doesn’t overshadow St. James’s Park like an unwelcome cloud.
Christy Malyan
It’s no secret Newcastle have a frosty relationship with their frugal owner, who still treats the football club as a business first. But it’s often better the devil you know and for all the complaints over how limited the Magpies’ spending was during the summer, manager Rafa Benitez – easily a bigger asset to Newcastle than any individual player – appears relatively content with life under Mike Ashley at the moment – who does allow him un-interfered control of the first team.
While it would be wrong to pass judgement until we know more about the potential next owners, the Premier League have seen far worse, far more autocratic and far more destructive owners than Ashley down the years.
Cardiff City’s Vincent Tan particularly comes to mind. Newcastle fans will be glad to see the back of Ashley, but that doesn’t mean his replacement will be any better.
Chris McMullan
After years of wanting rid of Mike Ashley, Newcastle fans shouldn’t feel automatically optimistic at the thought of his departure. They are now in an awkward situation: they want rid of him for obvious and understandable reasons, but they also need him to sell to a good owner, otherwise the cycle will start to repeat again.
All things considered, though, some proper and quiet management at a club with a huge fanbase and passionate, match-going support is an exciting prospect not just for the North East, but for football as a whole. Everyone should be willing Ashley to sell to an owner who will invest in the playing staff and keep the circus out of town. If that happens, I’d hope that Rafael Benitez – one of the biggest names in football management – would stay and be given the funds to take his side to the next level.
Have no doubts, this will be a slow process. There’s still a huge margin for error and getting it wrong could make things even worse. But the silver lining is the potential for a very exciting future.
James Beavis
It will certainly be interesting to see where Newcastle go next when it comes to potential new owners as we have seen both positive and negative experiences from international investors in the Premier League and England in general.
While Asian investment seems to be the most popular option right now, they would have a passionate St. James’ Park crowd to deal with if things started going wrong or if they chose to make controversial changes.
In terms of Benitez, you would expect the Spaniard to be pretty happy with the latest developments because of the rumours that he doesn’t get along with Ashley, and the potential of increased transfer funds and ability to build a strong Premier League squad that he wanted to during the summer could be enough to see him reject interest from elsewhere.
