The Amanda Staveley Newcastle United takeover quote that hinted at current deal direction

Silence is golden, or at least that’s what they say.
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It’s gone eerily quiet on the Newcastle United takeover front – but that does not mean nothing is happen behind the scenes to push through a deal which has been more than 18 months in the making.

The most recent drive has seen Newcastle United fans again come to the forefront of the takeover push, with Newcastle Consortium Supporters Ltd leading the charge with their anti-competition challenge to the Premier League.

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The fan-led legal movement caught many by surprise, especially with Mike Ashley’s own legal angle being actively explored via Shaheed Fatima and Nick De Marco. But was this something in the pipeline all along?

DIC negotiator Amanda Staveley takes her seat before Liverpool took on Chelsea in their UEFA Champions League semi-final football match against Liverpool at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England, April 22, 2008. The game finished 1-1. AFP PHOTO/PAUL ELLIS (Photo credit should read PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)DIC negotiator Amanda Staveley takes her seat before Liverpool took on Chelsea in their UEFA Champions League semi-final football match against Liverpool at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England, April 22, 2008. The game finished 1-1. AFP PHOTO/PAUL ELLIS (Photo credit should read PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
DIC negotiator Amanda Staveley takes her seat before Liverpool took on Chelsea in their UEFA Champions League semi-final football match against Liverpool at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England, April 22, 2008. The game finished 1-1. AFP PHOTO/PAUL ELLIS (Photo credit should read PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

A look back over PCP Capital Partners’ Amanda Staveley’s words from back in August hint that getting the fans in the fight was always likely to the key that unlocked the deal door.

Speaking to the Athletic after the PIF public ‘pull back’ from the deal, Staveley said: “It’s up to the fans now. Because if the fans want this back on then they’re going to have to go to the Premier League and say this isn’t fair.”

Criticising the Premier League for their lack of owners’ and directors’ test decision, she continued: “The Premier League wanted the country, Saudi, to become a director of the football club. That’s what this is about.

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“They were effectively saying ‘PIF wouldn’t be the ultimate beneficial owner, we believe it’s actually the government, therefore we want the country to become a director’, which puts them in an impossible situation.

“They feel they weren’t wanted by the Premier League.

“I hope the fans realise what’s happened, that this is a lot more complicated than it might seem.

“I want them to understand the whole thing about the directorship, that it would be impossible for a state to become a director.

“The Premier League made it so hard. It would be unprecedented. No country has ever become a director of a club. It’s ridiculous.”

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She continued: “They were saying ‘you know what, we won’t reject you but we won’t approve you either, so we’ll just sit here for month after month’.

“They could have told us all this before we exchanged.”