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Tag: Newcastle

  • Newcastle United: Amanda Staveley still interested in takeover

    Businesswoman Amanda Staveley says she still wants to buy Newcastle United despite owner Mike Ashley ending £250m takeover talks this week.

    Ashley said in October he wanted to sell the club after 10 years in charge.

    He was believed to have been close to selling to Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners group but talks ended when they failed to match Ashley’s valuation of the club.

    “I’m very much still interested,” Staveley told The Times.

    BBC Sport understands there has been no formal contact between the Ashley and Staveley teams since before Christmas.

    But Staveley told the newspaper: “Our bid remains on the table.

    “This is an investment, but it has to be a long-term investment. Newcastle would be run as a business, but we want it to be a successful, thriving business that is an absolutely integral part of the city.”

    She also added that manager Rafael Benitez was fundamental to her bid, adding: “Rafa is doing an incredible job. We want Rafa to be part of this project.”

    A Newcastle source told BBC Sport earlier this week: “Ashley was unhappy with their approach and feels discussions have been a waste of time but the club remains up for sale.”

    Staveley’s group, which is thought to be backed by money from the Middle East and China, is one of a series of prospective buyers that signed non-disclosure agreements with the club last year.

    It made a formal offer for the club in November which, it is understood, could have eventually risen to £300m if certain targets were met.

    Staveley helped broker the purchase of Manchester City by Sheikh Mansour in 2009 and it was reported that she led Dubai International Capital’s £400m bid for Liverpool in 2008.

    Ashley, 53, has been a divisive figure at St James’ Park, with some supporters regularly protesting about the way the businessman has run the club.

    He bought Newcastle for £134.4m in 2007. Their latest accounts showed a profit of £900,000 and turnover of £126m in 2015-16.

    The club have been relegated twice from the Premier League during Ashley’s 10-year reign and are currently 16th in the top flight after 16 games, having won promotion last season under Rafael Benitez.

    BBC Sports

  • Manchester City wasteful but march on with 18th straight win

    Manchester City’s relentless assault on English football’s record books continued on Wednesday as a Raheem Sterling goal earned them a 1-0 win at Newcastle United.

    The result helped the side to extend their extraordinary record of successive English Premier League wins to 18.

    Sterling’s fine 31st minute finish saw Guardiola’s men improve their unbeaten league sequence this season to 20 games.

    It helped to stretch the yawning gap at the top of the league to 15 points on a night where they dominated but were very wasteful.

    Rafa Benitez started with the most negative approach St James’ Park can ever have seen from a Newcastle side.

    It allowed City to monopolise proceedings before Sterling finally broke their resistance with his 13th league goal of the season.

    City hit the woodwork three times in total — twice from Sergio Aguero and once from Kevin De Bruyne.

    They nearly paid for their profligacy in front of goal.

    In rare Newcastle attacks, Rolando Aarons had a first-half chip cleared off the line and Dwight Gayle headed wide late on.

    In spite of a slightly sloppy second-half performance, it would have been a travesty if Newcastle had been rewarded for an ultra-cautious approach.

    They are just a point above the relegation zone after their fifth straight home defeat.

    City moved on to 58 points out of a possible 60, with their Manchester United neighbours on 43 points and Chelsea on 42.

    “We did absolutely everything but it is difficult to play when the other team doesn’t want to play,” Guardiola said in what sounded a harsh but fair assessment of Newcastle’s early passivity.

    “Any manager can decide what he wants. I prefer to try to play but I respect a lot what opponents do and we have to try to discover how to attack against them.”

    Such is City’s aura now that Newcastle, almost as if Benitez was resigned to their fate from the start, invariably put 10 men behind the ball in the opening half an hour.

    This was as the visitors sought an opening.

    Argentine Aguero volleyed against the post after seven minutes and De Bruyne let Newcastle off with some slack finishing.

    This was before the South American again struck the post on the half-hour with a right foot shot.

    City even made light of the early departure of captain Vincent Kompany, who suffered yet another of his injury woes and had to limp off after 10 minutes.

    Refusing to compromise their attacking approach, they simply pushed midfielder Fernandinho back into central defence and brought on striker Gabriel Jesus.

    With Newcastle offering nothing, it felt just a matter of time before De Bruyne picked out Sterling brilliantly with a floated through ball.

    It saw the England international ghost in and squeeze it left-footed past Rob Elliot from a narrow angle.

    Forced to offer a response, Newcastle responded almost immediately when a fine Aarons’ chip brought an excellent headed goalline clearance from Nicolas Otamendi under his own bar.

    But it was just a brief respite as City equaled the English top-flight record of 11 consecutive away league victories.

    De Bruyne, with a strange mixture of commanding orchestration and wayward finishing, struck the post with one searing shot.

    But City did appear to become a little complacent as substitute Gayle came close with an 89th minute header that went just wide.

    Now, Guardiola is just one win away from equaling the record of 19 league victories in a row that he set with Bayern Munich in 2013-14.

    It was the longest winning streak achieved in any of Europe’s top five leagues.

  • Superb Ozil strike gives Arsenal victory over Newcastle

    Newcastle suffered a fourth defeat in a row as Arsenal moved back into the top four with a narrow victory.

    Mesut Ozil’s brilliant volleyed goal in the first half was enough for Arsene Wenger’s side, who dominated until a late rally from Newcastle.

    Ainsley Maitland-Niles hit the side-netting for Arsenal before the break, but Newcastle had chances in the second half for Jacob Murphy and Ayoze Perez.

    The result puts Arsenal into fourth place while Newcastle have now claimed just one point from the last 27.

    Newcastle only came to life in the latter stages, with Perez failing to take advantage of two rare chances when he put a shot and then a header over the bar.

    Jack Wilshere came the closest to giving Arsenal breathing space late on when he saw his side-footed shot saved by the recalled Rob Elliot in the Newcastle goal.

    It was Newcastle’s 10th straight Premier League defeat to Arsenal and they are now without a league win since 21 October when they beat Crystal Palace 1-0.

    BBC Sports