There’s clearly a lot of work to be done at Newcastle by the new club owners, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment fund, but they’ll certainly be getting on the right side of supporters with their approach for a couple of club legends.
The jubilation and celebration seen outside St. James’ Park on Thursday when the news broke that Mike Ashley had, finally, been bought out, looked to have triggered a huge sigh of relief on Tyneside.
? “We’ve got our club back!”
Look at what it means to these Newcastle United fans! ?
The £300m takeover of #NUFC has officially been completed, with a Saudi-led consortium ending Mike Ashley’s 14-year ownership of the club ?
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 7, 2021
After years of neglect by Ashley, the club was now in the hands of people with money and a willingness to make things better.
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According to the Mirror, Amanda Staveley, who is the public face of the deal, has already held informal talks with Alan Shearer and Kevin Keegan, with a view to bringing them back on board at the club.
The glory days of the 1990s might be some way away, but for what both represent, if Shearer and Keegan were to return to the club, it would go some way to earning PIF the supporter trust they’ll need to get the Toon Army onside.
It isn’t clear at present what their roles would be, but even just a willingness to talk things through with the new owners has to be seen as an early positive step.