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American Sharks Circling Around Newcastle
A bevy of a-list sports magnates, all of them with ties to soccer in the US, are reportedly in the hunt for the Magpies. But is taking over a fraught, hyper-pressurized club worth it for an American billionaire?
Nov 10, 2008 6:20:40 PM
After word came that the race to buy struggling Premier League team
Newcastle United was down to two American businessmen, the rumors of
possible suitors started flying fast. The speculated shortlist of names
is a pantheon of super-wealthy sports-franchise owners in the US, all
of which already boast connections to soccer in the United States.
Phil Anschutz, nicknamed “Uncle Phil” in the US soccer community for his longtime financial support of the game in the US (he once owned half the MLS teams), appears to be the frontrunner.
The owner of AEG, the company that owns the Los Angeles Galaxy and co-owns the Houston Dynamo with the boxer Oscar De La Hoya, Anschutz is often mentioned as a possible EPL owner. Worth upwards of $8 billion, he certainly has the cash to pay current Newcastle owner Mike Ashley’s asking price of $450 million.
Next on the list is Clark Hunt, who currently owns FC Dallas and the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. The son of Lamar Hunt, one of the godfathers of American soccer, Clark Hunt’s Hunt Sports Group has recently established some ties at Newcastle, namely, in the shape of a 12-year-old boy. Emerson Hyndman, the grandson of FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman, visited Newcastle in April after being spotted by Magpies director of football Dennis Wise. The under-15 international is considered one of the up-and-coming stars of soccer in the US.
The other names in the wind are Mark Cuban, who owns the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and the HDnet TV network, one of MLS’s official broadcasters; and former Microsoft honcho Paul Allen, who owns the Portland Trailblazers and co-owns Seattle Sounders FC, a new franchise set to join MLS next season. Their names appear to be mere rumors, with very little substantiated in any reports.
Whether any of these sports barons will pull the trigger for the Magpies remains to be seen. If they do, it won’t be easy for them to win the hearts and minds of the Toon Army, arguably the most loyal and demanding of all the supporters in England.
But they will at least have several compatriots to hang out with. The EPL has seen a rash of American owners in recent years, including the Glazer family (Manchester United), George Gillett and Tom Hicks (Liverpool), and Randy Lerner (Aston Villa). Their purchasing of EPL clubs have been received poorly, despite the fact that they have each spent lavishly and improved their clubs since taking over.
Manchester United have won two league titles and the Champions League since the Glazers took ownership. Liverpool, despite acquiring Fernando Torres for around $40 million, underperformed amid injuries and clashes between the owners and the coach, but they are currently tied on points at the top of the table. In the two years since Lerner purchased Aston Villa, the club have gone from a mid-table side to qualifying for the UEFA Cup last season and this year challenging for a Champions League berth.
-- Greg Lalas, Goal.com
Phil Anschutz, nicknamed “Uncle Phil” in the US soccer community for his longtime financial support of the game in the US (he once owned half the MLS teams), appears to be the frontrunner.
The owner of AEG, the company that owns the Los Angeles Galaxy and co-owns the Houston Dynamo with the boxer Oscar De La Hoya, Anschutz is often mentioned as a possible EPL owner. Worth upwards of $8 billion, he certainly has the cash to pay current Newcastle owner Mike Ashley’s asking price of $450 million.
Next on the list is Clark Hunt, who currently owns FC Dallas and the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. The son of Lamar Hunt, one of the godfathers of American soccer, Clark Hunt’s Hunt Sports Group has recently established some ties at Newcastle, namely, in the shape of a 12-year-old boy. Emerson Hyndman, the grandson of FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman, visited Newcastle in April after being spotted by Magpies director of football Dennis Wise. The under-15 international is considered one of the up-and-coming stars of soccer in the US.
The other names in the wind are Mark Cuban, who owns the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and the HDnet TV network, one of MLS’s official broadcasters; and former Microsoft honcho Paul Allen, who owns the Portland Trailblazers and co-owns Seattle Sounders FC, a new franchise set to join MLS next season. Their names appear to be mere rumors, with very little substantiated in any reports.
Whether any of these sports barons will pull the trigger for the Magpies remains to be seen. If they do, it won’t be easy for them to win the hearts and minds of the Toon Army, arguably the most loyal and demanding of all the supporters in England.
But they will at least have several compatriots to hang out with. The EPL has seen a rash of American owners in recent years, including the Glazer family (Manchester United), George Gillett and Tom Hicks (Liverpool), and Randy Lerner (Aston Villa). Their purchasing of EPL clubs have been received poorly, despite the fact that they have each spent lavishly and improved their clubs since taking over.
Manchester United have won two league titles and the Champions League since the Glazers took ownership. Liverpool, despite acquiring Fernando Torres for around $40 million, underperformed amid injuries and clashes between the owners and the coach, but they are currently tied on points at the top of the table. In the two years since Lerner purchased Aston Villa, the club have gone from a mid-table side to qualifying for the UEFA Cup last season and this year challenging for a Champions League berth.
-- Greg Lalas, Goal.com
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