Liverpool owners pushed into sale of club due in part to what’s now happened at Newcastle United | OneFootball

My brother yesterday sent me proof from the Liverpool Echo, that the shrewd business being done at St James Park by the Newcastle United owners is being taken very seriously indeed.

With Liverpool having recently been put up for sale, according to the North West scribes, this has been partly instigated by the unexpected and rapid turnaround on and off the pitch at Newcastle United.

The realisation being that Newcastle are way ahead of schedule to what any of the established top clubs anticipated a year ago, now considered the real deal when it comes to challenging for titles, trophies and Champions League qualification.

The general view is that lucrative sponsorship deals have been negotiated within the Financial Fair Play rules and Newcastle United are about to steal a march on their rivals.

The Liverpool FSG owners reported to be now considering selling the naming rights to Anfield, as a first step.

Wor Lad has a scouse son in law called Tom, who was actually a part-time interpreter for a couple of our French speaking players a few years back (scousers as interpreters…only under Mike Ashley). The two of them usually have friendly banter, although I believe it sometimes can reach ‘Alf Garnett and the Scouse Git’ proportions when Tom and my niece visit the North East.

He reckons it is not only on Merseyside that the alarm bells are ringing, but also in the heartland of Salford, some 35 miles away.

Originally, the owners of both Liverpool and Manchester United were looking for minority investment, and that may still be all they end up with, but over recent weeks it has been stated that full takeovers would be considered at the right price.

Those reported sale / valuation prices are very high indeed and there is a feeling that any potential owners and investors, are being put off by current debt (massive in Manchester United’s case) and doubts about how to further increase growth and revenue.

The Saudi PIF were courted by both of these North West giants in recent years but just didn’t fancy it and so went looking for a bargain that they could grow into a club worth billions.

It was Amanda Staveley, who after taking in the Newcastle United v Liverpool fixture in 2017, convinced the PIF that it was in fact Newcastle who were more likely to become the next powerhouse in English football with the correct ownership model (as Tony would say…”Viva Wor Mandy”).

The Fun88 deal comes to an end in the summer, so we can expect a lucrative new shirt sponsor, far in excess of anything we saw under Mike Ashley.

As previously reported, naming rights for St James’ Park are said to have already been discussed and the fans will be consulted as this is a sensitive issue for many. However, this will not be any Sports Direct Arena nonsense that brought no revenue whatsoever into the club.

Elsewhere abroad it has been interesting to see and read about the fall and possible demise of the ‘Old Lady’ Juventus. Our fellow black and whites’ entire board resigned on Monday after Andrea Agnelli stood down as chairman, amid claims of corruption on a huge scale. Agnelli has been one of the main protagonists for a European Super League but these latest developments could be the last we see of this greedy and self-entitled individual.

This is not the first corruption scandal that the Turin club have been involved in, and they were sanctioned and relegated over a decade ago.

(I reckon it was Andy Griffin who actually started the rot with his winner at St James’ in the Champions League in the early noughties).

So whilst others flap, the Magpies continue to soar and long may it continue.

On a different note, it was good to read some of the quotes from the Sheffield Wednesday fans on The Mag, after they had drawn us at home in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup. Wednesday are a famous old club that are currently in the EFL League 1 but there were no jealous and snide remarks about ‘Oil Money’ etc. Instead, their fans were looking forward to a big gate and a good game of football, which was refreshing to hear.

It’s the first day of December tomorrow and I’ll be putting the Christmas tree up before I nip down to the ‘Stuffed Dog’.

It’s just three weeks until Newcastle United are back in action and as a fan it feels like all our Christmases are coming at once.

My favourite Christmas song is Greg Lake’s ‘I believe in Father Christmas’.

I also believe in Eddie Howe and his players, our owners and ‘our club’.