Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has broken his silence on the club’s £300million Saudi-led takeover, or perhaps more importantly their long-awaited departure from the clutches of Mike Ashley. What the future holds for the Magpies is now up in the air, although the sky is the limit after becoming the richest club in the Premier League.
Fans have gathered in large numbers outside St James’ Park to celebrate what could be a hugely successful future for Newcastle.
Ashley’s tenure as owner was characterised by a perceived neglect of the club, with their spending falling way behind Premier League rivals.
Although he dug into his pockets more regularly in recent seasons, the damage had already been done and fans had been calling for the club to be sold for a number of years.
Alan Shearer was one figure who could not hide his jubilation, saying: “Yesssssssss. We can dare to hope again.”
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“He has got Newcastle into tenth place. If he can do that with that squad imagine what he would do with some backing and some finance.”
Despite the obvious problems under Ashley, some fans have expressed concerns about their new owners given the drastic change which is on the horizon.
A scathing banner was unveiled at St James’ Park before a separate group kick-started the raucous celebrations, seemingly showing fear that the club could lose its identity.
The extent to which that may happen will unfold over the coming weeks, months and years, but Shearer is certainly optimistic about what this means for Newcastle United.