With the recent takeover bid now seemingly dead in the water, we can now simply reflect on what it could have done for Newcastle upon Tyne.
To clubs up and down the nation, the idea of a takeover means many things: New players, managers, kit deals, massive sponsorships and at the top of the tree; domestic and continental success.
In the city of Newcastle, it meant so much more.
Over the last 13 years, the passion of this once colossal footballing city has been suffocated constantly and is at risk of fading altogether. Newcastle fans have always been brilliantly represented as some of the best in the land, and for good reason. They have stuck by their team through over a decade of draconian transfer policies and uninspiring football. However, the latest takeover saga has got fans thinking, ‘How much more of this can I take?’
The latest takeover attempt, the most publicised of the Ashley era, symbolised something the city has been longing for years, change. This took two forms, it would’ve meant so much to not just the footballing side (mentioned above) but to the wider city, with the Reuben Brothers and PIF promising mass investment into not just the playing staff but the stadium, training ground and surrounding area, creating tens of thousands of jobs. Even more heart- wrenching is the fact that the Reuben Brothers have donated over £36,000 to the West End Food Bank during the ongoing pandemic, signifying that they clearly understood the plight of our great city in this hard time and genuinely wanted to help. Furthermore, with Newcastle performing on the pitch, you could only sit and ponder about what sort of economic prosperity it could’ve brought to the region.
Moreover, an extremely important aspect of the takeover is how it would’ve changed the attitude of nearly every football fan in the city. From looking forward to the match to get through your day at work, being ecstatic to take your children to their first ever match, and feeling genuinely excited, rather than pessimistic every time you walked up towards St James Park on match day. These are emotions that fans have been starved of since the Sir Bobby Robson days, and they could’ve been back in an instant. This city revolves around the football club, it sits in the middle of the city centre and in the centre of many people’s lives, and the takeover had the potential to change the outlook of hundreds of thousands of die-hard fans.
Sadly, we must now reflect on what might have been, The takeover is now in our rear-view mirror, and as we plan for the new season with reported signings such as Jeff Hendrick and Tom Davies, the days of hope that Cavani, Mertens and Thiago Silva would be driving up to Benton for training seem like a fever dream. The cans must be put away for now, and hopefully one day the city receives the change it so desperately deserves.
There is still hope that a takeover might happen, with a new Singapore consortium reportedly expressing interest. As for the PIF/Staveley/Reuben Brothers saga, it will go down as one of the largest missed opportunities in English Football.
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