Försäljningen av Newcastle – uppdatering
Den senaste veckan har burit på en del nyheter och en del dödande av rykten, men sagan om försäljningen av Newcastle United framstår för varje dag som går mer och mer som Seinfeld – en serie om ingenting.
Den senaste veckan har burit på en del nyheter och en del dödande av rykten, men sagan om försäljningen av Newcastle United framstår för varje dag som går mer och mer som Seinfeld – en serie om ingenting.
Ananda Krishnan, är INTE med i det malaysianska konsortium som sägs ha besökt träningsanläggningen vid Benton samt fått en guidad tour av arenan. Krishnan – som först ryktades vara konsortiets frontfigur och har en förmögenhet på nära 60 miljarder kronor enligt Forbes – har officiellt förnekat inblandning.
”News reports were carried on July 5 and July 6 in various newspapers in Malaysia and Singapore that Mr Ananda Krishnan or companies owned by Mr Krishnan had expressed an interest in purchasing Newcastle United Football Club and that his representatives had been engaged in talks to explore or even conclude such a deal.”
"There is in fact no truth or foundation to this story.”
"Mr Krishnan has not expressed an interest in purchasing Newcastle United Football Club, has not sent any delegation to Newcastle to engage in such talks or authorised any representatives to negotiate on his behalf and is not considering any such purchase”.
Det har i dagarna även ryktats att ett annat konsortium från Hong Kong skulle vara nära ett uppköp med Gianluca Vialli som tilltänkt ”Director of Football”. Ryktet samlade fart under några dagar, innan det uppdagades att det rörde sig om en forumanvändare på ”Skunkers” som hade hittat på allt. Vi är alltså inte på väg att bli sålda till Hong Kong.
Annars skriver ”the Chronicle” att ett uppköp är nära och att det malaysiska konsortiet är mycket intresserat. Ett amerikanskt konsortium ska även vara inblandat i slutförhandlingarna.
SkySports visade igår en intervju med Charlie Chawke som sade sig vara del av ett konsortium med intresse i klubben. Han sa att ”tidiga diskussioner precis genomförts”, vilket ju inte direkt indikerar på att försäljningen är nära.
Något drar ut på tiden och det är högst oklart vad detta är. Steve Harper, Chris Hughton, Sebastien Bassong, Steven Taylor och Kevin Nolan har igår och idag talat med media och bekräftat spelartruppens oro över vad som egentligen sker.
Kevin Nolan:
“We want somebody to make a decision – it’s unfair on the players and the staff.
“To be fair, the players have been fantastic and have done what needed to be done.
“We will continue to keep our heads down.
“But in the next week we certainly want to know what is going to happen.
“We would prefer to know whether Mike Ashley is going to keep it next season or whether somebody is coming in.
“Then we can start getting ready for the Championship.
“It’s a tougher situation for everybody else, including the fans.
“Chris and Colin have come in and done a fantastic job. It is a weird situation for them.
“It is a week to week thing, but we hope it will all be sorted, whether it’s somebody coming in and taking over or Mike Ashley offers them the job there needs to be a decision for the sake of the playing staff.
“One thing that I have noticed since I came to Newcastle is that everything is public knowledge.
“I find it very weird. The fans need to know what the conclusion of this is.
“For them to be hearing the ins and outs of the sale of the club is driving them crazy, they will go potty.
“We’ve got fantastic fans so I hope they will stay as patient as they can with it.
“We were delighted it was just a case of getting the ball out again and getting a game without suffering any injuries.
“Unfortunately we had Kazenga LuaLua coming off late on with a hamstring.
“The rain in the second half helped us a lot and allowed us to zip the ball around and the boys did really well in the second half.
“It was a tough week with 7am starts and finishing late on with three sessions a day.
“The lads have responded well and stuck together.
“That’s what we want to do.
“We have to stick together and stay as a unit.
“Hopefully we will be ready for the start of the season.”
Steven Taylor:
“We want a manager and a bit of stability – we need that.
“We’ve got a chairman who wants to sell, but as players, we don’t know what’s going on.
“We want something sorted quickly, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens.
“I’ve got two years left on my contract – it’s as simple as that.
“I was devastated when we went down – it was the worst day of my career.
“There’s no worse feeling than getting relegated, and we all want to put that right.
“Every day there’s something happening at Newcastle, and, to be fair, we just want to stay out of it. All the players are just keeping their heads down and getting on with it.
“Every day you hear something different – you don’t know what to believe until things get signed on the dotted line. We’d like it sooner rather than later.
“I was in the right place at the right time, and hopefully I’ll get more than last year.”
Steve Harper:
"All we keep hearing is ‘Next few days, next few days, next few days’. Everybody – fans, players, staff – wants it resolved so we can rebuild this football club because we are in an awful state at the moment.
"We want it to be done and dusted so we know where we are and where we are going because at this moment the football club is dying a slow, painful death.
"We have to soldier on, but the sooner the better for everyone concerned – and most importantly for Newcastle United.
"What happened last season was desperately, desperately disappointing.
"Just when you think there is an opportunity for this club to put itself right, this happens.
"For five or six years now it has been a gradual, slow implosion. It’s happened now and just when you think there is an opportunity to get it right, build and get straight back up, the opposite happens.
"A lot of fans have come up to me and said ‘In two or three years, it might be a blessing that it (relegation) happened’. Obviously everyone is very disappointed that it happened, but if something good comes out of it and the club rebuilds then maybe I can see that point.
"At the moment the club is not rebuilding – it is in a state of limbo and it is no good for anyone. We just want to get this club going back in the right direction and the situation is very, very frustrating for all of us.
"It is a unique and awful situation but we have to soldier on. This time of year is about getting as fit as possible, getting through games like this with no injuries, which we have managed to do," he said.
"Getting a result helps and we have had a good week. We just need things to be resolved next week now – that is what we’re all hoping. As players we continue our preparations for August 8 this morning. That has to be our focus."
Sebastien Bassong:
“I think, in this situation, a lot of players will want to leave.
“They cannot stay in this situation.
“I’m not the only one.
“It would be different if a manager was in charge, particularly Alan Shearer, as he knows the club and the team.
“I have a lot of respect for Newcastle and the supporters – everybody knows that.
“The situation at the club is a little bit strange. I don’t know who is going to be the manager or owner.
“That’s why it’s a bit weird.
“I want to play in the Premier League, and I think I deserve to play in the Premier League.
“I would like to play in the Premier League with Newcastle but, for the moment, it’s not possible.
“Honestly, I want to leave for my career and my future.
“I think if I was to play in the Championship it would not be a step forward for my career, and that’s why I want to leave.”
Chris Hughton (video intervju)
Habib Beye:
"I'm really upset by what has, or rather has not, been going on this summer.
"It was hard enough dealing with the disappointment of being relegated but things just seem to be going from bad to worse.
"I've spoken to Alan Shearer and I know how much he wanted to get Newcastle back to the Premier League.
"He is a top man and someone the players believe in. He had told us about what he expected when we returned to pre-season training and I left for my holiday fully expecting him to be in charge when I got back.
"But it hasn't happened and he doesn't seem to know what's going on much more than anyone else.
"When I joined from Marseille two years ago, I was so excited to be joining such a big club. It was a dream move.
"I'd like nothing more than to stay and help the team get back to where it belongs but there is no chance of us being promoted the way things are going.
"Training has been good and no one is slacking or taking it easy. But there is a sense that everything is just drifting.
"This cannot go on, it really can't. I feel for the good of my career I have to get away because it is dragging me down."
Fortfarande saknas officiella uttalanden från Derek Llambias och Mike Ashley. Alan Shearer sägs vara relativt säker på att jobbet är hans, och tålmodigt vänta på att uppköpet ska slutföras.
Fortsättning följer.
