Chaos Reigns At Newcastle United

Chaos reigns at Newcastle United after the club was put up for sale on its website. Bidders for the relegated club were invited to contact an E mail address. Predictably, the club received some derisory offers and abusive E-mails from Sunderland fans. Putative manager Alan Shearer had hoped that Barclays Bank would extend the club's overdraft, making £40m available as working capital to buy players and pay wages, but he has heard nothing. The club is set to lose 120 members of staff. Mike Ashley has offered the club for sale at £100m, but despite it being talked up as potentially a top seven Premiership club, it is thought that he will be lucky to get £80m. That would represent a £164m loss on what he paid for the club and subsequently invested to reduce its debts.