Shepherd ponders place in the Newcastle revolution

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Shepherd ponders place in the Newcastle revolution

George Caulkin

 

Newcastle United’s future should become clearer today when sweeping changes to the board are expected to be confirmed in a statement to the stock market. Yesterday’s meeting between the present regime and representatives of Mike Ashley, whose £133 million takeover is progressing quickly, will result in a number of departures.

 

Ashley, the billionaire sportswear businessman, will install his team of directors at the club, which will shortly revert to private ownership, but he has asked Freddy Shepherd to remain in his position as chairman at least until that process is complete and the new board has acclimatised. Along with the likes of Douglas Hall, Shepherd had offered his resignation, but his instinct now is to stay.

 

With Sam Allardyce requiring funds for strengthening his team and complex plans in development to increase the stadium capacity to 60,000 and build a hotel and conference centre adjacent to the ground, there is logic in Shepherd serving as a figurehead, despite his unpopularity with some supporters.

 

The reclusive Ashley is understood not to have been at yesterday’s meeting, but his ambitions were spelt out to Shepherd, who has undergone a recent health scare and whose wife, Lorelle, has indicated in public that she would prefer her husband to step aside. A final decision is imminent.

 

One situation that appears to have been resolved is the saga of Newcastle’s compensation claim over the knee injury suffered by Michael Owen at the World Cup finals last summer.

 

The club’s insurers and the FA have shared the cost of the striker’s £110,000 weekly wage, Fifa contributed less than £2 million from its World Cup fund and the FA has settled Newcastle’s £150,000 medical bill, but the overall sum is much less than the £10 million that has been mooted.

 

David Rozehnal has completed his £3 million transfer from Paris Saint-Germain. The Czech Republic defender passed a medical at Newcastle and has agreed personal terms on a four-year contract. The 26-year-old is expected to be presented at a press conference today.

 

Allardyce attempted to sign Rozehnal for Bolton Wanderers in January, but the conclusion of a long chase merely represents the start of the manager’s rebuilding process at St James’ Park. Mark Viduka and Joey Barton have joined the club, but a rearguard that has lost Titus Bramble, Craig Moore, Oguchi Onyewu and Olivier Bernard this summer is the focus of Allardyce’s attention. Sami Hyypia, of Liverpool, and Habib Beye, of Marseilles, remain targets.

 

In this regard, the ramifications of Ashley’s arrival have still to be felt. A source close to the sportswear tycoon has stated that “the guy is someone who wants to build the biggest and the best and be successful”, but Newcastle are not competing in the highest echelons of the transfer market. After selling Scott Parker to West Ham United for £7 million, the club have spent about £1.8 million since the end of last season.

 

Sunderland have about £25 million to invest after their promotion from the Coca-Cola Championship, but they have tempted only Greg Halford to the Stadium of Light. Having failed to lure Jussi Jaaskelainen from Bolton, Roy Keane has turned his attention to Craig Gordon, the Heart of Midlothian goalkeeper, and is pursuing David Nugent, the Preston North End striker.

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