“It’s not good looking at the table at the minute, and the takeover seems to be rumbling on. Ideally it would have been done before January because regardless of a takeover or not, this is a squad or club that is in need of major investment. Their survival really does depend on what happens in January. There’s talk of some kind of an agreement between Staveley and Ashley to allow Rafa to spend some money. It just seems to have stalled a little. The uncertainty is not good. Up here it’s passionate and momentum either way can escalate quickly.
“It’s a big club, it has potential, but every week that goes by where they don’t pick up points you’d think that the price is going to come down. I tried to negotiate with Mr Ashley myself when I was on the bonus committee and he’s a tough cookie, which is obviously reflected with how successful he’s been in the business world.”