Douglas Hall wishes to sell his shareholding in NUFC.

Kevin Keegan is reported as having had dinner with Sir John Hall.(Daily Mail)

Keegan is reported as seeing publicist Max Clifford for 3 hours yesterday. (Daily Mail as well)

Rumour is he now intends to re-enter the football industry.

Can someone please add these 3 things together for me and come up with a logical answer. Martym

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2001

Answers

God ,we could drive ourselves nuts with these things, martym!

It seems highly likely that Douglas Hall would sell - if he could get a decent price. However, he and CHD hold ca. 48% of the shares, so I don't believe they could sell out without triggering a general offer to all shareholders - which would be expensive, perhaps £60-70 million. They could however sell part of their holding, say 10-20% of the company, to a third-party which would give them a major interest and a seat on the Board.

KK will surely get involved in the game again, but in what capacity? I find it rather difficult to believe he would wish to get back in a coaching capacity, given his self- confessed defficiencies in this area.

I believe that SJH is still highly influential at SJP, and you can bet he will not be at all happy with the current state of affairs, and the diminishing value of the family stake in NUFC. He and KK are still neighbours at Wynyard so them having dinner may mean nothing. However, if I was to pull all these straws together in what is purely speculation, I could certainly imagine the Halls selling a significant stake in the Club to a wealthy individual outside of the game, and recommending KK as this person's Board representative, and indeed the man to manage the football side of the business. As to who the 'wealthy benefactor', might be? Well, this American guy Lamar Hunt's name keeps cropping up.

Hhmmm, interesting!

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2001

...what on earth have I done with the bold tag?

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2001

How wealthy is wealthy ?

Keegan must be rolling in it, maybe he just wants to be back in a Dalglish at Celtic type role, at Newcastle, on the board. He will probably be able to get Terry McDermott a seat on the board as Social Director

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2001

....then, of course, there is Arthur Cox!. He'll need a job as well, macbeth.

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2001

.....not to mention Fazackerley!

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2001

Hall`s selling of shares , this is the initial stage of a `Sting` engineered by Mad Max , he will roll it out as a resurgence of the SOS debacle one week before the last game of the season at SJP. The fans will be utterly confused , in militant mood and ready to protest until it is revealed by a sauce that in fact it "Sells one`s Shares " promotion. Still bewildered the supporters attend the last game of a lousy season in their numbers , a seething undercurrent of Geordie hostility fuelled by broon ,rumours and no confidence.

Then Mad Max in cahoots with Fred the Nerd pulls off his master plan, with the ground already full 30 mins before kick off ,the eyes of 52,000 mags are trained on the directors box , 52,000 voices in unision are chanting "Sack the Board", the atmosphere is electric.

The chant wanes, becomes muffled , finally drowned out by the arrival over SJP of a Harrier Jump Jet (flown by two Geordie season ticket holders pilots) from Wittering on the Marsh on a jolly really but officially practicing landing techniques on hostile soil. The jet lands, crowd are still , you can hear the mastication of prawn sarnies engines cut , the loudspeakers blast out Owen Brannigan`s version of Blaydon Races , on completion 30 Tina Turner look a likes (supplied by North East Clubs Agency, 0545-5321) come onto the pitch to the ear splitting backing of `I will survive` The pilot alights , waves to the crowd , and then makes a Debby McGhee gesture to the co-pilot dressed in a black n white flying suit. He takes off his helmet,right arm raised aloft, tears down his face , at first the Toon Army think it is Freddy Starr ,and then a groundswell of noise as one erupts with KEEGAN XXXXXXXXXXXKEEGANXXXXXXXXXKEEGANXXXXXXXXXKEEGANXXXXXXXKEEGAN

At a given signal his four trusted lootenants strategically in position at each corner sprint onto the pitch to join him on the center circle, Sir John Hall waving a handful of pound notes, from the Gallowgate the instantly recongnisable of Tashy Mac clutching betting slips, the slower gait of Arfur Cox with giro`s and cv`s, who is the fourth the crowd wonder , a few of them seem to know .,Toon Shirt with Sir John on the back, its bliddy Jonno , go on son you can make it, trying to run and bow at the same time takes its toll and he collapses yards short of his hero , he is resusitated by the pilot and joins his heros where they march in diamond formation to the Gallowgate end to receive the plaudits from the masses, stopping only to dip their feet in the bucket of disinfectant at the penalty spot as foot and mouth is still prevalent in the area. The harrier takes off with Mad Max on board, the Toon Army are delirious, grown men with beer guts are sobbing, the music changes to `This is the dawning of the age of ????.

Game on , Toon win 5 -4 , Bigg Market is bombing, Football Edition, the Sunday Papers , the BB`s, the land is rejuvenated ,Hail Kev, walking in a Keegan wonderland, whatever did happen to Auld Bobby

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2001

"......the mastication of prawn sarnies....."
ROTFLMAO. Priceless, Buff.

The truth, as they say, is stranger than fiction.

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2001

Ketamine and whizz quite cheap north of the border, then, buff?

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2001

Beats the usual end of season parade of players, doesn't it?

Brilliant, Buff!

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2001

Me too Clarky. ROTFLMAO......and cryin' me eyes' oot!!

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2001

Nah Dan, nothing so upmarket, I blame it on the water pills and a promo on Coop Red Wine, I have been laughing inwardly , or maybe I was gulping for air at a couple of wee asides MacBeth slipped in the other day, about our Warren and his ability to clap enthusiastically, I can see his autobiography being entitled Warren Barton -Serial _Slapper- sorry Clapper.

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2001

This morning's papers have Keegan linked with Southampton if, as seems possible, Hoddle takes over at Spurs.

-- Anonymous, March 11, 2001

Wonderful Buff - ROTFLMAO and tears pouring down my face!

-- Anonymous, March 11, 2001