• Due diligence uncovers worrying facts about financial
liabilities
• Uncertainty at club breeds unrest amongst players
There is a growing possibility that Newcastle United will not be sold this
summer. A source close to the efforts to find a buyer for the
Championship club has revealed that
Mike Ashley may still be in control at
St James' Park this autumn.
Although two consortiums remain interested in buying Newcastle
for a figure close to the £100m asking price and others hover in
the background, the due diligence process is understood to have
exposed troubling facts about the club's financial liabilities.
"The process is moving extremely slowly, there is still genuine
hope of a sale but it's not looking imminent," said the source.
"Newcastle comes with a lot of baggage."
Ashley's problem is that once the transfer window closes at the
end of August interested parties are likely to postpone any
purchase until shortly before it opens again in January or even
next summer. Football clubs are rarely sold outside transfer
windows and Newcastle's would-be buyers are believed to be
concerned about the club's wage bill. That stands at around £65m
per annum and is proving a stumbling block.
While paying £100m for Newcastle could prove a sound investment
if the club bounces straight back to the Premier League, a second
season in the Championship would be a huge drain on resources.
Though Newcastle could offload some high earners such as Obafemi
Martins, Joey Barton and Fabricio Coloccini this close season,
realistically any moves are likely to be completed only if the club
continue paying a portion of their former players' wages. When
Leeds United sold Robbie Fowler to Manchester City Elland Road kept
on meeting a sizeable percentage of his salary and a source close
to Newcastle admitted: "The fear is we could end up in a worse
financial mess than Leeds did."
Ashley, who has retreated from the public eye in recent weeks,
is consequently faced with the unpalatable prospect of continuing
as owner or taking a huge financial loss by offering Newcastle at a
rock bottom price for a quick sale.
While he attempts to find a buyer, Ashley has resolutely refused
to appoint a manager, leaving Newcastle under the caretaker charge
of Chris Hughton. Alan Shearer is waiting in the wings
and hopes to return to the manager's office but he would almost
certainly demand that Ashley invest in players suited to the
rigours of a Championship campaign.
Newcastle, meanwhile, have been dealt a blow by the Football
Association, which has ordered the club to scrap their pre-season
friendly at Utrecht. With their north-east rivals Sunderland due to
play in the Amsterdam tournament 30 miles away on Sunday 26 July
police in the Netherlands and Britain had feared there would be
clashes between travelling supporters. Since Sunderland had already
sold tickets for the event the Wearsiders have been cleared to play
by the FA.
There remains unrest among Newcastle's players, several of whom
are threatening to submit transfer requests next week. "We want a
manager and a bit of stability," said the centre-half Steven
Taylor. "We need that, at the moment we don't know what's going
on."
Such sentiments were echoed by Kevin Nolan. "We would prefer to
know whether Mike Ashley is going to keep [Newcastle] or someone
else is coming in," said the midfielder. "In the next week we
certainly want to know what is going to happen. This situation is
unfair on the players and the staff."