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An Indian-based group owned by the sixth-richest man in the world is being tipped to show renewed interest in buying Newcastle United following Kevin Keegan's resignation and a plunge in popularity for the existing board.
Anil Ambani of the Reliance petroleum, textiles and communications group was reportedly involved
in talks this summer but found the asking price of 250 million ($663.7 million) excessive.
That is the sum owner Mike Ashley claims to have put into the club, having discovered after he took over that there was 100 million of debt. Not that Ambani could not afford it: the 49-year-old is said to be worth more than $53 billion. He has also been linked in the past with Leeds United and Everton, where his son was spotted at a pre-season friendly match last month.
There is even speculation that he would be keen to restore Keegan as manager, prompting bookmakers to drop their price on an astonishing return that would involve dismantling the current structure under which he was overruled on transfer deals.
With Alan Shearer also ruling himself out, Newcastle will find it difficult, if not impossible, to find a new manager popular with supporters. Shearer has criticised the system of a three-man executive group over the manager's head, saying: "I don't think I would be comfortable working within a structure with a director of football who was picking and choosing the players for me.
"I would like to be a manager at some stage in my career, but that means controlling the players that go in and the players that go out." Shearer feels the new man must be appointed quickly, saying: "I know the fans are very unhappy at the moment.
"They are angry, hurt, and disappointed and everyone feels for them, me included, because we all want the same thing _ success at Newcastle United _ because we are all supporters." James Milner, whose 12m departure to Aston Villa just before the transfer deadline was pushed through against Keegan's wishes, has every sympathy for his former manager.
"He was a fantastic manager to work with even though it was a short space of time," Milner said. "I have enjoyed working with him very much, he was fantastic. I can't say a bad word about him. I wish him all the best for the future and obviously Newcastle as well. It will be a tough time up there. Hopefully they can get it sorted and help the club move forward."
Milner, who has played a record 38 times for the England Under-21 side without making the step up to the senior squad, added that after seven years with Newcastle and Leeds, he has never started and finished a season with the same manager.
"A bit of stability would be nice and hopefully I can get that now," he said.
The League Managers Association has criticised Newcastle for suggesting they may sue Keegan for walking out on them. Richard Bevan, the LMA's chief executive, said yesterday: "I'd like to see Newcastle saying that they need to correct their business model, improve lines of communication and ensure the next manager lasts longer than eight months. I've seen a lot of comment about directors of football, but I feel this case and Alan Curbishley's at West Ham have got far more to do with good business structure and organisation."
He does not feel that having a sporting director is necessarily a problem: "We have managers who are very happy with having a director of football, but you have to follow a couple of ways of proceeding: the manager should be involved in the hiring of him and shouldn't be reporting directly to him."
Bevan does not believe that last week's events and a probable increase in the number of foreign owners will lead to a widespread cull of managers this winter. "In the 90s the average tenure for a manager was 3.8 years," he said. "It's now down to 1.5 years and I don't think it can get much lower."
- INDEPENDENT