Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi are set to sell their stake in Newcastle United.
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00:00Well hello from sunny Cyprus now as you've probably guessed I am on my
00:04holidays this week but I thought I'd give you my quick reaction to the news
00:08that Amanda Sturgeon and the LEC will be stepping down from their roles at
00:12A-class United and selling their 6% stake in the football club now.
00:17It's a bit of a shock for many and certainly judging by the reaction on
00:21social media I don't think many people expected this news any time soon and I
00:27wasn't expecting this news at this stage and hence why I wouldn't have taken the
00:33holiday if I did but yeah they have they will step down from their
00:38rostel their 6% but I suppose if you look at it really it isn't too much of
00:45a surprise because even the last 12 months Amanda Sturgeon and the LEC
00:52shares in the football club or stake in the football club has diluted as a
00:56result of the money that RB Sports and media and PIF have put in so of course
01:03PIF and RB Sports and media you know they're not short of a penny let's say that
01:09Amanda Sturgeon and the LEC do see their investment hasn't been able to match what they're
01:14putting in and yeah naturally that's how their shares died you probably know that
01:19but I'm taking you through a lesson here but yeah yeah I don't know where to start
01:25really I think it's it's sad news I think a lot of people would be upset to
01:30see the back of both Amanda Sturgeon and Mia Degadussi because they've played
01:35massive role in Newcastle United over the last two and a half three years now
01:42taking on the responsibility of running the football club when that deal was
01:46confirmed in October 2021 now in that time on the field Newcastle have went
01:53from 19th in the Premier League to qualifying for the Champions League, a cup final
01:58beating PSG there's been a lot of highs on the pitch and then there's you know
02:04they've done a lot off the pitch as well not just in terms of you know transfer
02:07windows and the first transfer window under PIF was essentially run by
02:12Amanda Sturgeon, Mia Degadussi and a lot of the signs they made, they managed to get Kieran
02:16Shippey out, Bruno Guimaraes down there and some important figures in there
02:21away from the field of course you've got the transfer windows and just a
02:26day-to-day run of the club you've then got the training ground which you know
02:3010 million pound in investment to get that up to scratch because it was
02:34previously very very poor standard, not even up to Championship standard in many ways
02:38so that you know that you got the ball rolling on that and even the little
02:43the little wins if you like the the the Shearer statue being moved on the actual
02:48St. James's Park land, you then had a nine ball moving back to Shearer's ball
02:55it's rightful name and of course there's been plenty of other things as well
03:01little wins if you like around St. James's Park just improving
03:05St. James's Park, even cleaning the windows for example and it's all these
03:10little wins but it helped restore a better feeling for the football club
03:14because you know 14 years in the Knight Ashley this club was, all this close supporters
03:19were fed up really really fed up and they didn't they lost that feeling of
03:24hope and belief and Amanda Stavey and Mary Caducee through persistence and
03:30restored that and I say persistence there, not many people will forget that
03:35Amanda Stavey fought hard to get this club Knight Ashley I think it was took
03:40three to eight of our bids to eventually get Knight Ashley to sell, she wasn't to be
03:45beaten by the, I'm trying to think of the, she wasn't to be beaten by you know the
03:53Premier League, the Premier League profits team, the Premier League test, the owners and directors test
03:59which took a long long time, there was then obviously rejected bids from
04:03Knight Ashley previously, Amanda Stavey took a lot of knock backs alongside Mary
04:08Caducee but they still kept going kept going and as I say their persistence
04:13paid off and yeah they got the football club and they've restored a feel-good
04:19factor around it and I think because of that a lot of Newcastle fans will view
04:25those two figures there as heroes if not legends for what they have done so I
04:31think their legacy although I will probably say I think over the last 12
04:37months there's probably been a few mistakes made now this isn't necessarily
04:41all was their fault but obviously they're in charge of the day-to-day around the
04:45football club so it does fall on their shoulders only and the PSR situation
04:50was although had to be resolved I think it was a real disappointment that it was
04:54resolved at the last minute, it should have been done earlier to avoid that
04:59late panic and then of course the Dan Ashworth situation again I don't fault
05:05Amanda and me for employing Dan Ashworth because Newcastle fans would have
05:09agreed at the time that it was the best appointment they could have made but
05:13obviously what unfolded, the Manchester United situation, I think it left a
05:20bad taste in PIF's mouths and they had to step in on me and that's how they got
05:25Bournemouth but of course Amanda and me would have been keen on that as well so I say
05:33that they've taken the club a long way now it's up to others to take it even
05:38further and Newcastle are on a journey, Amanda and me have helped accelerate the
05:43journey and now it's up for the likes of PIF who I'd imagine now will take a much
05:50larger role within the within the club you then of course got Paul Mitchell now
05:56who is involved as sporting director, Darren Ears, you've got countless of other
06:02people behind the scenes because let's not remember, not only were Newcastle a
06:06skeleton structure off the pitch, sorry on the pitch, on the mike actually but
06:11they were off the pitch as well, didn't have a commercial team off, they did, it was a
06:15very small commercial team but the full operations of the Football Club have
06:19been restored to that of a Premier League Football Club and Amanda and me
06:24had played a big part in that so yeah from an emotional point of view I think a lot
06:29of fans will be sad to see the back of Amanda and me at Adelaide but Newcastle
06:34as I say are on a journey and it's up to others now to take this club forward and
06:39take it to the top which is where it once could be.