There’s a chance when the smoke clears that we’ll be left with an awful situation at Newcastle United.
At the end of August, Mike Ashley could still be the owner of the club and Rafa Benitez, with the three coaches who work closely with him, could have left the club.
Mike Ashley is unwilling to give way to Rafa on recruitment and the free use of his transfer budget – but if Ashley is selling the club, why is he so concerned about this?
One big thing that can help the owner sell Newcastle currently is that world-renowned Rafa Benitez is the manager.
Why would he want him to leave before the club is sold – so why didn’t he give what Rafa wants to stay at the club.?
Mike Ashley – does he really want to sell Newcastle?
We are being told the Bin Zayed Group are well along with in their efforts to acquire the club, and that two other groups are also still involved in trying to buy Newcastle.
But no exclusivity has been granted to any of the groups – or so we are told.
What we don’t understand is why Ashley wouldn’t have given in to the demands of Rafa Benitez, and he could have signed the deal four weeks ago, and we wouldn’t be in this terrible mess of uncertainty the club are in now.
Surely Ashley would have done that if he intends to sell the club and once the club is sold we would expect the new owner(s) to potentially upgrade Rafa’s contract.
Why would Ashley be so firm with Rafa if he wants out of Newcastle?
That’s the question.
If this man is still around by the end of August he really is a reluctant seller – and that simply code for he doesn’t want to sell the club and lose all that global publicity for Sports Direct.
And it could all turn out to have been another ruse not to spend much money in this summer’s transfer window.
We really hope that’s not true.
There should be some protest made to the Premier League about the behavior of this owner – he’s completely unfit to own a Premier League club and had kept Newcastle in chains for 12 long years.
He should have no future at all at Newcastle United.
Comments welcome.
391 comments so far
RobLeenio
Jun 20, 2019 at 11:34 PM
Comment #361Tony, #327 there’s nothing to say that Sheikh Khaled isn’t acting as a broker. He’s a wealthy man, his company has been involved in some massive deals, but you have to wonder what he would personally get out of owning a football club.
There have been suggestions that he could be fronting a bid. There’s no way of knowing at the moment, but the posts from Hatem786 stated that ‘Sheikh Sahib’ had completed the purchase. The first time he said this, I thought it was a typo, but he repeated it this morning.
I guess time will tell….
Foggy Hall to Timbuktu
Jun 20, 2019 at 11:34 PM
Comment #362They have now removed the talk of Rafa from the product description on the club shop website. I posted it yesterday how they were talking about the new season under the famous Spaniard and other words to that effect.
If Rafa is gone I have to say I am surprised that he has just kept quiet and not said anything. Not like him as he usually lets his feelings know publicly.
If he has gone I dont think anyone can blame him.
droppy in Wallsend
Jun 20, 2019 at 11:35 PM
Comment #363One fine day
He really is the ultimate parasite.
droppy in Wallsend
Jun 20, 2019 at 11:39 PM
Comment #364Robleenio
Do we have any clue who Sheikh Sahib is?
My personal take is Ashley is holding it up to see if his ‘other parties’ can scrape cash together then he sells keeps revenue streams and sits back and says see I wasn’t that bad.
If he sells to a Sheikh then his austerity is going to look even worse
droppy in Wallsend
Jun 20, 2019 at 11:39 PM
Comment #365Foggy hall
That doesn’t sound good
RobLeenio
Jun 20, 2019 at 11:43 PM
Comment #366droppy, you’re a tease – stop being coy and get your info oot for the lads!
😉
Bambams shares what he knows, as soon as he knows it. It’s interesting stuff, things like the staff performance reviews and the training ground getting a facelift, all potentially relevant but open to interpretation.
He and Micky are both good lads and I trust what they say.
I don’t know about Rafa – he’s very quiet, but so is Mourinho. So is Wenger, for that matter. These latter two you would think would be putting themselves in the shop window, but not so much. I have a feeling that Rafa will stay, but wouldn’t be at all shocked if he was on his way. Hugely disappointed, in that case, mind.
Foggy Hall to Timbuktu
Jun 20, 2019 at 11:43 PM
Comment #367Droopy – nope.
I saw someone on twitter giving grief to that Lee Marshall saying that it is false advertising as he hasnt signed a new contract. He responded for a change and said that he would get someone to look into it. Tonight its gone.
What you reckon lads? Is he holdong out to be resigned by the new owners or do you think thats the last of Rafa we have seen as our gaffa?
magscar
Jun 20, 2019 at 11:44 PM
Comment #368Rob
Fair enough but I seriously can’t recall anything extra emerging since that exchange . It is entirely up to Micky what and how he shares what he hears.
Like others though I feel he dropped a bit of a bombshell earlier tonight and without any qualification. Many on here hang on his every word.
If I am putting 2 +2 together and making 5 then my apologies if I have exaggerated the significance of his email.
But if he is right then unless a sale is due to be announced where does that leave us ?
Tony Baloney
Jun 20, 2019 at 11:48 PM
Comment #369Droppy: I look at The Sun football now and again. I swear it has gotten worse. Every single headline is a pun and half the stories are an excuse to put a picture of a WAG in a bikini. And then they run some of their regular stuff as picture stories at the side. I fear for the future of Britain if that shyte is what normal folk are interested in.
I don’t read it much because it is actually really annoying.
droppy in Wallsend
Jun 20, 2019 at 11:51 PM
Comment #370Robleenio
As I say the tiny bit I have is probably nothing.
I know someone who works in connection with the club doing training with young kids.
He was at Benton when Rafa was last week.
Now he’s spoken to Rafa maybe 4 or 5 times before.
He said he seemed in good spirits chatted for a minute or two and then shook his hand and said “Best of luck for the future”
My mate thought this meant Rafa was gone. Later that day he found out the other junior coach he works with had put his notice in, so he wrote it off as just mistaken identity.
There it’s out there!
I told my mate that he was a tw@ as he text me saying Rafa’s away.
3 hours later I got ‘Sorry I was wrong he’s not’
Now it’s a tiny thing that probably means nothing but tin hat is ready.
one fine day
Jun 20, 2019 at 11:51 PM
Comment #371rafa is very very quiet on insta too.
but noticed he is being trolled by some idiot to ”make his dreams come true ” so could be why he isn’t updating it .
NY Mag
Jun 20, 2019 at 11:52 PM
Comment #372Magscar / rob,
There’s no way that any new owner would come in and score an own goal by letting Rafa go – its stupidity beyond belief, knowing how much he is loved.
The one thing that any new owner would want, is to have all fans onside and the feel good factor back – and that is to have Rafa standing right next to them when the announcement is made (even if they ultimately want to replace him).
droppy in Wallsend
Jun 20, 2019 at 11:52 PM
Comment #373Foggy
Routine admin is the usual club line.
one fine day
Jun 20, 2019 at 11:54 PM
Comment #374Either way what ever happens .
when rafa writes his book i hope it has every detail about whats gone on since he came to nufc. Will be one hell of a read
droppy in Wallsend
Jun 20, 2019 at 11:54 PM
Comment #375Tony Baloney
They give the Sun away at our local Cinema I won’t even read it then.
Tony Baloney
Jun 20, 2019 at 11:54 PM
Comment #376According to The Mail, Wan Bassaka to Man U for 60 million deal is done.
That’s our whole transfer budget!
RobLeenio
Jun 20, 2019 at 11:57 PM
Comment #377Sheikh Sahib? Not a clue. I did ask Micky if he thinks it could be an honorific or a nickname for someone in the Middle East, but this was after he said he was going to the pub and I haven’t heard anything from him since. If it was a clue, it’s an enigmatic one.
Hatem768 actually did actually drop a name, a fairly undesirable one honestly, Umar Farooq Zahoor. You would think this guy would have no chance at all of passing a directors test, so maybe not the ultimate buyer, but he seems like a fixer, rather than an end buyer and has an association with the AMERI Group, who are…. connected.
This is his Norwegian wiki page – click the translate button when it loads up. Not good reading.
https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umar_Farooq_Zahoor
droppy in Wallsend
Jun 20, 2019 at 11:58 PM
Comment #378One fine day
I enjoyed the Martin Hardy books which concluded with Rafa’s way.
Got a signed copy of that one.
My wife works with his ex and I’ve asked for info that way but nothing doing
Foggy Hall to Timbuktu
Jun 20, 2019 at 11:58 PM
Comment #379Droppy you’re not wrong there.
I dunno something in me tells me that if Rafa was gone he would have came out in some sort of way or via some sort of avenue and confirmed it. It doesn’t quite add up for me on the Rafa front.
one fine day
Jun 20, 2019 at 11:59 PM
Comment #380NY
Was thinking (and still hoping) the same thing .
would make no sense to start off on your ownership facing’difficult questions”like why did he let rafa go etc.
reminds me of the shepherd killing bambi saga over SBR
The next 10 days are now massive in the future of nufc as we at at a crossroads .join the elite or end up on another Netflix doco .I think its that fine a wire .
Foggy Hall to Timbuktu
Jun 21, 2019 at 12:01 AM
Comment #381One fine day,
Don’t even joke about a Netflix Documentary haha
droppy in Wallsend
Jun 21, 2019 at 12:01 AM
Comment #382Robleenio
I saw that and it’s not good at all.
I googled Sheikh Sahib and nothing made any sense at all.
one fine day
Jun 21, 2019 at 12:02 AM
Comment #383Droppy
good book but will def get a few new chapters after this sorts itsself out i think
anyways lads n lasses
work calls
Lets hope we get some news over the weekend
droppy in Wallsend
Jun 21, 2019 at 12:03 AM
Comment #384Robleenio
I dropped my little snippet of info above.
Thoughts? Personally I think it’s nothing.
droppy in Wallsend
Jun 21, 2019 at 12:04 AM
Comment #385One fine day
It’s a great book.
Catch you later.
RobLeenio
Jun 21, 2019 at 12:05 AM
Comment #386Cheers, droppy, worth sharing – all these snippets are worth bearing in mind, helps to fill out a story and give pointers in different directions. Thanks
NY Mag, I think you’re right, if I was an inbound owner and knowing from first hand how well loved Rafa is, it’s a no brainer to get him signed up and onside. But I’m not a mega-rich bloke used to doing things my own way.
I think he’ll be here next season, but there is a chance he won’t be.
magscar
Jun 21, 2019 at 12:05 AM
Comment #387NY Mag
Until Micky’s bald statement earlier I was exactly of that mind.
However I am wondering what prompted it right now -just his guess or something he had picked up.
It was very unMicky like and as we know he has been very much at the forefront of info getting out on here so it had a troubling ring of authenticity as I read it catching up on Blog.
There has been much conjecture on here including by myself re Rafa’s silence and this would be a disappointing explanation.
NY Mag
Jun 21, 2019 at 12:06 AM
Comment #388OFD,
Any (potential) new owners must know the toxic relationship between the fans and the current incumbent – I can’t even fathom that they wouldn’t want a dramatic entrance with……here’s what you fans wanted and we’ve delivered : Rafa signed up, several (top) players signed up.
Nothing else makes any sense…..unless it’s a repeat of the MA years (which I refuse to believe)
droppy in Wallsend
Jun 21, 2019 at 12:07 AM
Comment #389Robleenio
I almost shared it before my mate text me the second time, close call.
I think he’s staying.
I can confirm he wasn’t clearing his desk.
droppy in Wallsend
Jun 21, 2019 at 12:09 AM
Comment #390NY Mag
It was a little troubling but as you say surely new owners would keep him.
droppy in Wallsend
Jun 21, 2019 at 12:12 AM
Comment #391Oh and I can confirm Bambams nickname for Lee who makes the tea. ‘Mini Mike’
Apparently the general consensus is that he couldn’t organise a F**k in a brothel.