The end of an era at Newcastle United
The challenge facing Newcastle United ahead of the departure of Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi.
In all honesty, I’d forgotten what it was like to speak to a Newcastle United owner.
In Mike Ashley’s 14 years as the club’s owner, I’d barely said a word to him.
That’s far from ideal for a reporter covering a club, but that was just how it was.
Ashley’s time as owner finally came to an end in October 2021 after a proposed takeover was belated approved by the Premier League.
Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi took a 10% stake in the club, while Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund bought 80%. Jamie Reuben took the other 10% share through RB Sports & Media.
Within hours of the confirmation of the £305million sale, journalists were speaking to Staveley – who had been working on the deal for the club since a visit to St James’ Park in 2017 – at a hotel in a leafy corner of Jesmond.
As fans celebrated outside St James’ Park that night, Staveley, recognising the immediate need for a discourse with supporters, got to work.
Staveley, tired and emotional after the conclusion of the long-running takeover saga, did a series of interviews in her hotel suite.
So, importantly, there was communication from the top from day one.
When it was my turn, she spoke at length about the ownership group’s longer-term plans and the immediate challenges that they faced at the club. She also pledged more “openness” from the owners.
“We appreciate the gem we’re custodians of, and we’ll make sure that every single part of this club is dusted down, and we’ll invest in all levels,” said Staveley, who also recorded a video message for the newspaper I was working for at the time.
At the time, the club was winless and in the Premier League’s relegation zone under then-head coach Steve Bruce.
That promised investment wasn’t long in coming. The new owners made the appointments and signings which would keep the club in the Premier League that season.
The following season head coach Eddie Howe guided the club back into the Champions League after a 20-year absence from the competition.
It was a remarkable transformation.
After years of being critical of Ashley’s ownership, it was hard to lay a glove on the club’s new owners. They were doing things the right way.
There have been setbacks, but the club is still going the right way. Staveley was also key in taking Newcastle United Women, twice promoted since the takeover, into the “heart” of the club.
And yesterday’s news that Staveley and Ghodoussi were to sell their diluted shareholding of six per cent, and also leave Newcastle, came as a shock to fans, though maybe not a total surprise given the need for United’s owners to invest more over the coming years.
However, there had been no hint of what was to come when Staveley posted a message to supporters on Instagram earlier this month.
It read: “The new season is full of promise for NUFC and we don’t have long to wait.”
Transfer input
A leadership team, led by chief executive officer Darren Eales, had been steadily put in place by the ownership group following the takeover, but Staveley and Ghodoussi have still been heavily involved in transfers and decisions, something which was underlined by the We Are Newcastle United documentary on Prime Video from the 2022/23 season.
Just as importantly, they’ve become an important link between the club’s ownership and its fanbase.
They’ve been the public faces of the ownership group, and the sad reaction of many supporters to the news of their departure is telling.
They were also a big presence behind the scenes, working closely with Howe and others during the week and entertaining guests on matchdays in the Chairman’s Suite. Staveley also represented the club at Premier League meetings.
They’ll be missed, and the challenge for the owners and executive team is to maintain the link with the fans which was established by Staveley and Ghodoussi as the ambitious club becomes a global brand.