Mike Ashley's Newcastle sale may thwart Alan Shearer

31 May 2009 19:08
Shearer, who failed to save Newcastle from relegation to the Championship after taking charge for the final eight games of the Premier League season, has been in talks with Ashley over the past week in an effort to thrash out a contract to become the club's fifth permanent manager in just three years. [LNB]Those talks are understood to have stalled with Ashley, who has ordered the club's wage bill to be reduced by £30 million, unwilling to match Shearer's £2 million-a-year salary demand. But Ashley's decision to attempt to secure a quick sale has left Shearer in limbo and, with the possibility of new owners identifying another manager to try to regain Premier League status, Shearer's reign might already have ended. [LNB] Related Articles'Shearer perfect for Newcastle'Newcastle ins and outsAshley says sorry as he chases ShearerSport on televisionShearer's appointment in doubtJJB founder Whelan close to buying the firms fitness clubsA source close to Ashley said: "Alan needs to re-evaluate what he was asking for, but the chances of him getting the job aren't as great as they first were. Everything is in limbo. Mike's decision to sell has changed everything."[LNB]Ashley has approached football's most respected dealmaker, Keith Harris of investment bank Seymour Pearce, as he seeks a cut-price sale of the stricken club. [LNB]Ashley spoke to Harris on Friday about leading the search for a buyer, Telegraph Sport can disclose, and terms may be agreed this week. As this newspaper disclosed a week ago, Ashley will have to settle for around £90 million if he is to persuade an investor to take it off his hands, incurring a loss of at least £140 million on the deal. Ashley paid more than £130 million for the club in May 2007 and has since invested £115 million more, £100 million of which went to pay off club debt. [LNB]According to the most recently published accounts, that payment, classed as an interest-free loan to the club, is repayable on demand and any investor will want a guarantee that it will be written off. [LNB]Ashley asked Harris to find him a buyer last year after becoming disillusioned with supporter opposition to his tenure at the club. [LNB]Harris, who brokered the sale of Chelsea to Roman Abramovich, identified an American buyer willing to pay £180 million but the deal fell through before Christmas when the purchaser suffered losses as a result of the Bernie Madoff fraud. The collapse led Ashley apparently to recommit to the club, though he is thought to have been open-minded to a sale. [LNB]Relegation has cut the valuation of Newcastle in half and with the club requiring massive restructuring as a result of dropping down a division, Ashley now appears ready to cut his losses. [LNB]He told a Sunday newspaper that his reign had been catastrophic, apologised to supporters and said he was again willing to sell. "It has been catastrophic for everybody. I've lost my money and I've made terrible decisions. Now I want to sell it as soon as I can. Advisers will be appointed shortly. [LNB]"Of course I regret it. I never said I was an expert in football clubs. I was just a fan –although a very wealthy fan. But I'm not so wealthy now. I put my money into it and I tried my best. But I accept my best was woefully short. I am genuinely sorry for everybody about what has happened."[LNB]Any sale may depend on the club reducing the £70 million wage bill drastically. Some 15 players are thought to earn more than £50,000 a week, unrealistic for a Championship club without the owner underwriting the salaries.[LNB] 

Source: Telegraph