Have we? Aren't we still bumbling around the bottom half of the league (as everyone predicted before a ball was kicked)?
The club's league position wasn't likely to have a real bearing on the value of the club, was it. Unless we were rock bottom, cut adrift and certs for relegation, or a surprise package comfortably in the CL spots, Ashley valuation would be stupidly high and Staveley's bid a more realistic valuation.
That's the sticking point, as it was always going to be. Ashley wants close to £400m, Staveley wants to spend closer to £300m.Something as movable as a league position on an arbitrary weekend in the middle of the season was unlikely to impact it.