- Staveley’s planned departure was both needed and a curse
- The hierarchy in chaos since she left
- Where would the club be if she was still at the helm?
The Saudi-backed takeover of Newcastle United finally ran its course in October of 2021. On that fateful night, the city centre was full to the brim with jubilant Geordies rejoicing at being free of the shackles that Mike Ashley had enforced.
But it wasn’t the Saudis themselves who were on the lips of those in the streets. It was instead the spearhead figure of Amanda Staveley, who was immediately granted legendary status among the St James’ Park faithful.
But, fast forward five years, and Staveley is no longer involved at Newcastle United. The impact she had in the blossoming stages has almost completely dissipated, and questions are spouting left and right about the club’s direction in her absence.
And perhaps the most intriguing discourse among the fanbase in the current situation is about exactly that…
Where would the club be if Staveley were still involved, and did relieving her duties inadvertently condemn the Newcastle United project to failure?
Takeover Broker Turned Club Leader
Truth be told, the 2021 takeover was not Staveley’s first rodeo with Newcastle United. In fact, she had attempted to buy the club as early as 2017. But it wasn’t until the Saudis got involved that she managed to broker a deal.
The eventual structure was as follows:
| Stakeholders | Percentage (%) Owned |
| PIF | 80% |
| PCP Capital Partners (Staveley) | 10% |
| Reuben Brothers | 10% |
But her role could not be reduced to a mere percentage; Staveley was the one who made the deal possible and became an integral part of the club’s day-to-day hierarchy.
Alongside her husband, Mehrdad Ghodoussi, they oversaw the club’s operations under a management contract.
They played an integral part in appointing Eddie Howe as manager. Not to mention the hand they had in signings that shaped the trajectory of the club, like Kieran Trippier and Bruno Guimarães.
It was no coincidence that, in tandem with Staveley’s influence, the on-pitch performances skyrocketed too.
Within the space of a year, the Magpies went from 19th in the Premier League to a 4th-place finish, and a Champions League adventure was on the cards.
It wasn’t just the men’s team that saw growth, either. Staveley made sure an onus was put on improving the women’s setup. Something that had been entirely neglected by the previous owner, Mike Ashley.
They became a fully professional outfit in 2023 and have resided in the Barclays Women’s Championship since then.
Structural Changes & Staveley’s End
After this initial flurry, Newcastle’s governance evolved into a more conventional hierarchy.
Darren Eales was appointed as CEO in 2022. Dan Ashworth came in as sporting director in 2024 but was later replaced by Paul Mitchell in shady circumstances.
As these appointments began to take shape, Staveley’s influence in operations reduced. Her shareholding fell from 10% to around 6%, as was planned all along.
Then, in July 2024, with the new structure all in place, it was time for Staveley and Ghodoussi to sell their remaining stakes. They stepped down from their positions within the club with immediate effect.
This was part of the predetermined ‘long-term plan’, which was centred on developing the club’s structure from an entrepreneur-led model to an executive model.
The Aftermath
In hindsight, Staveley’s departure appears to have brought to light many of the issues surrounding the club at present.
Eales left shortly after for health reasons. Paul Mitchell left amid reports of a falling out with manager Eddie Howe.
Last summer, a lack of leadership left the projects’ aims in tatters. Staveley’s impact in signings and strategy was sorely missed. Not to mention the absence of her reasoning in the Alex Isak saga.
It wasn’t solely her absence, but not having her there did exacerbate the problems faced. Those problems have not gone away since either and are largely still linked to what the club lost in character when Staveley left.
Fan Communication
Even with all of that, perhaps the most quintessential missing piece in the aftermath is the communication to fans.
In the current moment of uncertainty and discontent, you can bet your bottom dollar she would have addressed the supporters.
But, instead, those who turn up week in week out have been left in the dark thus far, and it is only escalating the situation.
Within the last year, mentions of a new stadium, an upgraded training ground, a new badge and a ‘vision 2030’ project have all gone silent.
As a result, many fans are now speculating and wondering just how invested the owners really are.
In fact, there has been an influx of supporters in online spaces bringing up Staveley herself. Asking what the current situation would look like if she were still involved and whether we’d even be here with her presence.
The Paradox
The reasons for removing Staveley from her post were entirely understandable. Her involvement was only supposed to be preliminary, to help the project blossom into something sustainable.
For the club to push on into the upper echelons of the footballing world, a changing of the guard was only natural.
However, her removal was only ever going to work if the plans in place allowed that sustainability to perpetuate.
But, at least at the current moment, that appears to have not been the case. In fact, since her departure, the operations have descended into chaos more than an intentional plan.
Granted, it has only been two seasons since the change, and there were many mitigating factors last summer that have had a knock-on effect. That said, we must give it time.
But the signs aren’t good. The fans have a right to be concerned that Staveley’s departure has condemned the project to stagnation and possibly failure.
How to mitigate the Staveley loss
It may have already been two years since she left, but a very important question still remains: what is the answer? Well, a good start would be establishing a food chain that works in tandem rather than causing friction.
The club have seemingly been hell-bent on employing a variety of people to do jobs which are remarkably similar on the to-do list in recent times. This is a strange dynamic, considering how well the project was functioning with minimal input from people.
It has at times created some unsavoury situations within the hierarchy, namely Mitchell and Howe’s falling out.
A little bit of stability would be good too. Which looks like it could be on the cards in David Hopkinson as CEO and Ross Wilson as sporting director. You know what they say, too many cooks spoil the broth – and it becomes even worse when those cooks only stick around for half of the cooking time.
But most importantly, in many opinions among the Geordie faithful, a return to the level of transparency employed in the early stages is crucial. Football fans can be surprisingly understanding when they are kept in the loop. But being exiled, as is currently the case, will only cause tension.
And, if all of that can happen, we may just see Newcastle’s trajectory once again resemble the shooting star it did when Amanda was in charge.
