In the wake of relegation to the Coca-Cola Championship the unpopular sports mogul Mike Ashley has finally found a buyer for the once proud Newcastle club. The new chairman, Phil Barron, led a consortium of Newcastle fans to conduct a buy out of the club, in what is hoped will be a new business model for many English clubs.
While it will come to no great shock to followers of the Sports Direct owners time on Tyneside that he has finally upped sticks it will amaze some that Alan Shearer has not received the managerial position, after his eight games in charge in the ultimately futile battle against relegation.
Moreover the new consortium have appointed a virtually unknown figure in the shape of lifelong toon fan Matt Maplesden to the hot seat. It is hoped that he will be able to get the players to pull together in a manner that the multitude of managers that Newcastle have seen this season were unable to, in time for the new season.
He will be aided in his endeavours by the full backing of the new board, who claim that there is money to spend at Tyneside for the right players. Maplesden insists he is ready for the challenge of managing his beloved club, and intends to "follow the model of Sir Bobby" in his quest for promotion, investing in young talent in Britain and abroad.
While he may be taking inspiration from the great man it remains to be seen if, even with a rumoured £100 million war chest at his disposal, he will be able to attract the right kind of players to Newcastle, the days of signings such as Bellamy and Milner are surely past. This has not stopped Maplesden from outlaying an ambitious plan to lead Newcastle back to the Champions League however, claiming that any signings he makes with this initial funding will develop into a team capable of taking Europe by storm once more.