Amanda Staveley believes that Newcastle United is in very safe hands following her departure from St James’ Park.
The 51-year-old shocked Newcastle United fans earlier this month when it was announced that she would be selling her shares and leaving the club.
Amanda Staveley’s exit came as a surprise to the Newcastle players too, with PIF and the Reuben brothers acquiring her shares to increase their stakes in the club.
Toon fans quickly paid tribute to Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi, thanking them for their work during their time on Tyneside. Newcastle United would not be where it is today without them, as they were pivotal to making the takeover happen in October 2021.
Newcastle have now lost Staveley’s PR ability, while Eddie Howe has lost two of his closest allies. It has really changed the dynamic of power at St James’ Park, and it has come at a time when Howe is also linked with the England job.
Amanda Staveley addresses the Newcastle United owners
It really has been a summer of change at Newcastle United, but the hope is that the major changes are now over – beyond new signings arriving.
Fans are eager for Howe to stay, as he has transformed the club since his arrival almost three years ago.
Newcastle are in safe hands when it comes to Howe, but are they in safe hands when it comes to the owners? Staveley has told the Athletic that the answer is yes, and has spoke about her relationship with PIF and the Reubens.
“Oh yes, incredibly safe,” she said.
“The Reuben family are like my family, and PIF are as well. Yasir is one of my best friends. They will treasure it as much as I treasure Newcastle. The club has all the ingredients and the thing I love about the Geordies is that they know how to stand up for themselves.”
Newcastle are in safe hands without Staveley as power dynamic changes
Unsurprisingly, Staveley has not had anything bad to say about her former business partners at Newcastle United.
She brought them all together to buy Newcastle United in 2021, and took the club on an incredible ride in such a short space of time.
But throughout that time, Staveley was always the public face. Now she has gone, with someone else having to take centre stage. It will likely be CEO Darren Eales, as it is extremely unlikely that he will hear more from the chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan. PIF have always been pretty quiet, despite being the main decision makers at St James’ Park.
Staveley has spoken very kindly about the PIF chief, and the respect goes both ways. Following the news of her departure, Al-Rumayyan thanked Staveley for the work she had done during her time with Newcastle United.
But her time is now over, much to the surprise of Newcastle fans. Staveley was always going to be at Newcastle short-term, but her departure has certainly come out of the blue.
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