What do Newcastle United fans think of the Saudi takeover?

NEWCASTLE: Magpies supporters give their assessment after 22 months of PIF ownership

It barely takes a scratching of the surface to realize that Newcastle United and the ownership model headed up by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia are a match made in heaven.

A fan base starved of any hope and ambition for so long, but one with optimism knowing no bounds, aligned itself with a sovereign wealth fund determined to be the best and most successful bar none. The years of Mike Ashley, the Magpies’ previous owner, taught fans patience, how to value even the smallest breadcrumb of success. It also showed them what footballing poverty felt like, the type that sucks at the soul — and it was not one they relished or wanted for future generations of mini Magpies.

Ashley never fought for anything, apart from his own profit margins. He had little to no care for the club’s past — tossing aside club legends like Alan Shearer and Kevin Keegan. Shearer, the Premier League’s and Newcastle United’s record goalscorer, saw his name torn down from the stadium walls, Keegan said he was lied to then forced out. Shearer’s statue was even moved outside the St. James’ Park footprint. PIF fixed that, moving it back inside where it now has pride of place at the world famous Gallowgate End. The name of the former England striker was also added to a restaurant in the same part of the stadium.

Ashley, who remarkably still has a corporate box at the ground, brought questionable sponsorship to the club’s door in the shape of payday loan company Wonga, degraded from the club’s historic links back to the 1990s with Adidas and even attempted to change the name of the stadium. That might well come again in time, but the sums, fans are sure,