Jack27 Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 build her a statue Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack27 Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5610811/2024/07/10/amanda-staveley-to-leave-newcastle-united/?source=twitteruk&utm_campaign=twitterfc&utm_medium=social George Caulkin/Athletic reporting it not too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponsaelius Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 6 minutes ago, Super Duper Branko Strupar said: This is odd. Is it? I'm pretty sure it has always been absolutely nailed on that she would sell her shares in the club. She is not rich enough to hold such a significant stake as the club grows - hence the gradual dilution of her stake even up to now. I'd imagine there's a pretty good chance she retains some kind of role going forward in the club even when she sells. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack27 Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 Quote Newcastle United co-owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi are to leave the club after three years at St James’ Park. Staveley, 51, played a key role in orchestrating the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) purchase of an 80 per cent stake in Newcastle for £300million (now $379m) in 2021, helping bring to an end Mike Ashley’s 14-year ownership of the club. As part of that deal, she acquired a 10 per cent stake in Newcastle, having made three failed attempts to buy the club from Ashley in 2017. The Reuben family also bought a 10 per cent share. The Premier League faced criticism for approving the Saudi-backed takeover, including from Amnesty International who called it “an extremely bitter blow for human rights defenders”. Staveley and her co-owners completed their takeover with Newcastle 19th in the Premier League table and with the financier predicting they could win the title within five to ten years. They sacked Steve Bruce as manager five weeks later and subsequently appointed Eddie Howe, who guided the club to safety in 2021-22. After years of underinvestment, Newcastle spent around £92 million in the first transfer window post-takeover, more than any other club in Europe, with Staveley and Ghodoussi instrumental in bringing in high-profile players like Kieran Trippier and Bruno Guimaraes. In their first full season as owners, Newcastle finished fourth in the Premier League in 2022-23 to secure Champions League football for the first time since 2003. They also reached the League Cup final, eventually losing out to Manchester United. Last season, which was hampered by injuries and Sandro Tonali’s 10-month suspension for betting offences, they finished seventh, narrowly missing out on a return to European competition. Their tenure has featured numerous highlights, from smashing their transfer record to sign Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad for £60 million two years ago and a £10 million spend on improving Newcastle’s training ground, to a remarkable 4-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. Newcastle’s women’s team was a passion project for Staveley and was brought under the club’s umbrella for the first time in its history. They went full-time professional last season and secured back-to-back promotions into the FA Women’s Championship. After being stripped back under Ashley, Newcastle now have a more rounded corporate structure, with Darren Eales in place as chief executive and Paul Mitchell recently replacing Dan Ashworth as sporting director. All parties have reluctantly concluded that the time is right for Staveley and Ghodoussi to step back and sell their shareholding and for the club to move on. A Companies House update earlier this year showed that Staveley’s stake has been diluted to six per cent, with the Reuben family’s shares increasing. In March, questions were raised about Staveley’s future at the club after filings on Companies House showed she had resigned as a director from 20 Newcastle-related companies. However, she quickly moved to assuage any doubts about her role at the club. “The changes made… were purely administrative, to non-trading subsidiaries,” she wrote on Instagram. “After the takeover, Jamie (Reuben) and I stepped in as directors of all companies until we could build an executive team. We remain on the ‘top-co’ and the board.” Staveley featured heavily in the We Are Newcastle United Amazon documentary last August and recently helped secure a deal between golf’s PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabia-funded LIV tour. She is expected to continue to work with PIF and remain involved in football. She also previously helped broker the £210m sale of Manchester City in 2008 to Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBG Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 Based on nothing at all. Something is going on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Izakaya Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 Hopefully she stays in some kind of ambassadorial role. She's been great for us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Duper Branko Strupar Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 1 minute ago, ponsaelius said: Is it? I'm pretty sure it has always been absolutely nailed on that she would sell her shares in the club. She is not rich enough to hold such a significant stake as the club grows - hence the gradual dilution of her stake even up to now. I'd imagine there's a pretty good chance she retains some kind of role going forward in the club even when she sells. Fair, more that its just totally out of the blue I suppose. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upthemags Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 Dont love it. Just let Paul Mitchell run everything and be czar Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ7 Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 One of the most important people in the history of the club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBG Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 Statement, NOW Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joelinton7 Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 Think this has always been the plan. I remember listening to Caulkin, Waugh at least a year ago on their podcast saying that Staveley and Ghodoussi have a contract from PIF to run the club and that there will be a time where that is no longer the case. We have now reached that time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nucasol Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 Sad to see her and Mehrdad go but they are at the point they need to cash out - what she’ll have to pump in via share capital is over her capacity. Especially with the Greek debt hanging over her. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGuv Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 Quite shocked by this. But not surprised at the same time. Sad news though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyeDubbleYoo Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 I don’t understand. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliamPS Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 Probably the plan from the outset. Her background is deals, the deal is done. Her role was then to cover the executive until that was all in place, and that’s complete now too, with the new DoF in and Eales settled. Mission accomplished! I say good luck to her. Doubtless she’ll be looking at her next deal somewhere else, probably not even in football. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eveready Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 Can't say I'm massively surprised. Looks like she borrowed the £30m to purchase her stake in the club from the Reuben brothers, which hasn't been repaid and is accruing interest She has a c.£3m judgement to settle from a court case unrelated to NUFC She's clearly having cash flow issues as she had to borrow money from the club to pay her legal fees during aforementioned court case (reported in the Telegraph) Any significant capital investment for new stadium, stadium expansion and new training ground would dilute her too much for it to be worth remaining the face of the club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheikBoom Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 Can't say nothing more than thank you to Amanda and Mehrdad. Without them we'd still be a basketcase of a club. They arrived when we had zero hope and have left us with dreams & aspirations as a club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponsaelius Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 For me it's an exciting point. It suggests we're ready to kick into gear with major infrastructure projects that she can't stick around for as she doesn't have the cash to support her stake. I just hope they both remain involved in the club, even just in an ambassadorial role. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nucasol Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 2 minutes ago, Eveready said: Can't say I'm massively surprised. Looks like she borrowed the £30m to purchase her stake in the club from the Reuben brothers, which hasn't been repaid and is accruing interest She has a c.£3m judgement to settle from a court case unrelated to NUFC She's clearly having cash flow issues as she had to borrow money from the club to pay her legal fees during aforementioned court case (reported in the Telegraph) Any significant capital investment for new stadium, stadium expansion and new training ground would dilute her too much for it to be worth remaining the face of the club. Spot on. Was wondering when this would happen after the last dilution. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisMcQuillan Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 (edited) I thought it was pretty much said at the time of the takeover that their involvement was for hand-holding in the initial phases of the project, then they would depart. So not a huge surprise, but still sad to see them go. I do hope that the club don't neglect some of the fan-facing communication that they've been reasonably forthcoming with. Edited July 10 by ChrisMcQuillan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBrownBottle Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 Add me to the ranks of the ‘unsurprised’. She was always likely to be diluted down and can’t keep up with the investments required. This could be an indicated of some serious investment about to drop (I.e. SJP expansion / new ground). She absolutely deserves credit for her persistence and eventually getting lard arse out of the club Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Memphis Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 We are a bird about ready to fly away from the nest, and to do that, we have to leave the mother bird behind. But we'll never forget what she did for us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiresias Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 Eeer didn't she say early she wasn't permanent was going to leave once everything in place, she got it all together and now leaves with a healthy profit Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdm Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 Many thanks to Amanda she was the driving force for the takeover and has done a great job since and not just with the men’s team. She’s put a lot of time and effort in to the women’s team too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankpingel Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 A little concerning but not entirely unexpected given Staveley's financial situation. Given her status within the club a statement will surely follow rather quickly. Amanda Staveley will be remembered fondly for her role and subsequent involvement in the takeover. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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