Amanda Staveley hasn’t given many public interviews since her and husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi left Newcastle United over this summer, but she’s been speaking at a Bloomberg event this week about her exit and plans moving forward.
The £300 million deal which saw Staveley take an initial 10% ownership of the club, after two previous attempted takeovers fell through, was completed October 7, 2021. In July this year, not even three years after the completion of the deal primarily funded by PIF was finalised, the businesswoman announced her departure from her role as director.
Remaining tight lipped after departing Tyneside, Staveley has been linked with involvement at Tottenham Hotspur – hinting further of her becoming re-involved in football in a recent event in which she made positive remarks of the Mags.
Speaking at a Bloomberg’s women, money and power event this week, Staveley had this to say when discussing her time away from Newcastle and plans moving forward following links with investment at Tottenham Hotspur:
“We have been working very hard. We miss football. I miss Newcastle a huge amount. We’re in the middle of doing quite a lot of work. I can’t say too much, but what I can say is I’m football mad. We have got some of the best football in the Premier League.
“We’re very lucky to have such great clubs but we should also not be complacent about our league position because we attract huge broadcast rights and we must make sure that we attract the next generation of fans.
“Whatever club we go to, what we’re trying to do is find a club where we can really give the investment that club needs. We want to be able to invest in the community, in the women’s team, in making sure that pathway is there.”
It seems as though a return to football may be imminent in some capacity for Staveley and Mehrdad, whether that be in the Premier League or beyond, but it is refreshing to hear her speak positively of Newcastle.
She misses us, and for the work that she completed for Newcastle: brokering the takeover and being influential in the hiring of Eddie Howe – as well as largely being the face of the new ownership group while also helping build connections with the women’s team – it ponders the question…
Is the feeling reciprocated, is Staveley missed by the fans? In my opinion, yes. As a positive and passionate figurehead if nothing else, as a barrage of questions about the club’s immediate and long-term future remain largely unanswered.
We don’t know ins and outs of why they left, but as Alan Shearer said in his recent piece for The Athletic, she and Ghodoussi felt like the soul of the club from a board level and the two who sold the project publicly – as well as backing Howe and building bonds with players.
In fact, would we have answers to at least some of the five big questions posed by Shearer if Staveley and Ghodoussi still had an impact on the board? I would be inclined to believe that there would be more transparency from the top level down, and we would be allowed to let our minds rest on the uncertainties surrounding the club’s future.