Source: SKY_Sports
Hall hopes for swift Toon sale
Former Newcastle chairman Sir John Hall believes it is vital that a buyer is found for the club in the coming weeks.
Owner Mike Ashley has put the Magpies on the market following their relegation from the Premier League and has set an asking price of £100million.
The St James' Park outfit are now effectively in limbo until they are sold, with negotiations with Alan Shearer over the manager's job stalling.
Shearer was brought in for the final eight games of the season but could not help his hometown club beat the drop and Hall now fears for the future.
He told Sky Sports News: "Mike Ashley has made his mind up to sell and we've got to hope that somebody is going to buy it (the club) very, very quickly.
"The start of the season is not too far away and you've really got to be organised before the season comes in.
"They're going to have to find the manager, whether they are going to stay with Alan or bring someone new in."
Hall believes that if the new owners are local, they will not have the same resources which many overseas investors boast.
FoolHe added: "I'm told there are some people interested and hopefully this might come to an early fruition, for the sake of the club and the fans.
"It is way beyond the resources of most of the local businessmen whose hearts are in their local club. We haven't got the billions to invest or to play the game as these foreign investors are coming in.
"I don't think we should try and compete with the Abramovichs or the Middle Eastern money. You'd be a fool if you tried to do that because you'd soon be bust."
The former Magpies supremo knows it will be tough for Newcastle to clamber back out of the Championship, and insists money needs to be spent on the playing staff.
He said: "I never thought it would happen, I thought we were always a big enough club to stay in the Premiership.
"But things haven't gone the club's way and it's not a very good situation. It's not an easy league to get out of these days.
It's a very tough league and I don't know how we're going to fare."
