When Newcastle owner Mike Ashley paid 150 Million Pound for the club just last June and proceeded to invest 122 Million Pound into the club, not many expected the tycoon to walk away from the club so quickly.

But after the trouble between Ashley and manager Kevin Keegan that led to a Keegan walkout and fan revolt, the initial price tag at St. James Park was touted in the 450 Million Pound range over in the Middle East.

Today the Daily Mail is reporting that Ashley has slashed his price down to 300 Million Pound, well below the price that many believed he had been holding out for.

With St James’ Park holding 52,000 fans (35,000 of them season-ticket holders) and currently valued at around 150 Million Pound, the playing squad’s worth is around 100 Million Pound and has a wage bill of 70 Million Pound.

image via DailyMail

Courtesy of Paulie Walnuts.

image via Telegraph

Newcastle Owner (for now) Mike Ashley has hired London-based company Seymour Pierce (who’s chairman is Keith Harris, the same man who brokered the 2003 sale of Chelsea to Russian Roman Abramovich) to handle the sale of the Toon.

After Ashley’s much publicized acknowledgment that it was time to sell the club after the fans’ protest of the handling of Toon legend Kevin Keegan, the hiring of Seymour Pierce (who’s also been involved in the sales of Aston Villa to Randy Lerner and Manchester City to Thaskin Shinawatra) is seemingly a step in the right direction after Ashley’s effort to sell the club on his own haven’t gone so well.

A Newcastle statement said: “The board of Newcastle United can confirm it has appointed the London-based investment bank Seymour Pierce to act on the potential sale of the club.  All matters relating to the sale of the club, including inquiries from interested parties, should go through Seymour Pierce.”

Looks like the all the dramaz at Newcastle continue. Owner Mike Ashley, CEO Derek Llambias and director of football Dennis Wise have been in the middle east looking for buyers. While there, Llambias was overheard saying that “I had to have a third person in the room when I met him otherwise I would have slapped him.”

I gotta say it’s kind of sad seeing a club with the stature and history of Newcastle going down a path like this. With Ashley holding out for a big pay day and not wanting to lower his asking price, it looks like there could be some tough times ahead for NUFC.

Everyday there seems to me more speculation and rumors surrounding Mike Ashley, Newcastle and a new billionaire interested in taking the clubs off Ashley’s hands. Today that billionaire is Kuwaiti businessmen Nasser Al Kharafi. According to Forbes (2007) Al Kharafi was the 52nd richest cat in the world with an estimated fortune of $11.5 billion, but it looks like the ridiculous price tag that Ashley has put on the club is preventing the deal with any of the previously mentioned billionaires from happening.

[Telegraph]

Probably wishful thinking on someone’s part - but maybe not since it is being reported everywhere - but The Sun (…yes, I know) is reporting that Bill Gates is interested in bidding for Newcastle.

Image of Bill Gates with Rafael Marquez via Daylife

More Newcastle United chatter. Looks like there are two Dubai companies interested in taking Newcastle off of Mike Ashley’s hands. ESPN is reporting that Zabeel Investments and DIC seem to be the two firms expressing interest in Newcastle, although the current price tag seems incredibly inflated. I said it earlier, but it seems that soccer clubs are the new trophy wives for the super super rich.

With all the drama surrounding Newcastle owner Mike Ashley, now is not the time to bear a resemblance to him. With fans calling for his head, and with it too dangerous for him to show up to Newcastle games, Mike Ashley stayed away from the Newcastle v Hull game this past weekend. Unfortunately, Newcastle season ticket holder, Alan McKenna (seen here on the right with Ashley on the left), was mistaken for Mike Ashley and some dude took a swing at him. This has caused McKenna to contemplate getting a Newcastle jersey with “I’m Not Mike” on the back.  I’m thinking that might be a good idea…

[Telegraph / Pic: North News]