Newcastle United Fan View: Amanda Staveley's presence signals imminent takeover at St James'

Newcastle United head in to yet another international break sitting comfortably in ninth place of the Premier League following a good home draw against a high flying and high scoring Liverpool.

To be in the top half of the table after the first month and a bit of the season is an incredible achievement following our promotion back in to the top tier.

There are some fine lines in football and you only have to look at Sunderland, a club in massive disarray following their relegation to the EFL Championship.

Whilst Newcastle United had Rafa in charge following their own relegation in 15/16, a world class manager capable of bringing the good times back, Sunderland are languishing in 23rd place, second bottom and are staring in to the abyss. Football can be cruel sometimes.

READ MORE – Is Mike Ashley about to sell the magpies?

Of course, the talk on Tyneside fast moved on from the home game against Liverpool on to yet more takeover talk.

There were rumours of Chinese investment in the summer which dissipated pretty quickly, then there was an interview from Mike Ashley saying he would sell the club if the right people came in – no longer was there a need to buy a box at St. James’ Park, a non-disclosure agreement could be signed and the press have confirmed that there is indeed interest and agreements have been signed over the last few weeks.

Then there was the appearance of Amanda Staveley, the financier, at the match on Sunday. Mark Douglas, tweeted that she is only ever seen in public if she wants to be, and that her appearance at the match was deliberate – something is most definitely brewing.

Of course, we have been here before, there have been rumoured takeovers throughout Ashley’s reign and it has even been muted that some of these rumours come from Ashley himself simply to generate some press speculation and publicity but this time round it seems different.

It is not just the local press reporting on it, all of the national media have picked up on the story and written some credible articles on it. Names are mentioned, Staveley being the main one and the fact that she attended the match amidst all the takeover speculation is telling.

Of course, she may just be a football fan or she may even be working for people looking to buy Liverpool, no quotes have been made from Staveley herself but something is up.

I still stand by what I have always said though, better the devil you know and the grass is not always greener. A takeover can lead to bad things but given the smile on Rafa’s face when asked about a potential takeover, you know what, we might be in for a change in ownership and a change on fortunes. This is going to be an exciting season that is for sure!