Premier League "big six" begin to twitch after Newcastle takeover with moral questions raised

The Toon have arrived among the Premier League elite thanks to their takeover which was completed last week.

The news that Newcastle United have been bought by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of whom Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, acts as Chair, seemed to come as something of a shock.

And yet, this is a deal that has been fermenting behind the scenes for several years now, so really no shock at all other than the fact that the Premier League have sanctioned the sale of one of English football’s prized assets to a regime with one of the worst track records in human rights abuses on the planet. Fit and proper person test anybody? Clearly the benchmark is lower than a snake’s belly.

I'd gladly lose me to find you
I'd gladly give up all I had
To find you I'd suffer anything and be glad

I'd pay any price just to get you
I'd work all my life and I will
To win you I'd stand naked, stoned and stabbed

I'd call that a bargain
The best I ever had
The best I ever had”

The Who wrote the lyrics to ‘Bargain’, one of their most loved songs, back in 1976. Some 45 years later, they seem appropriate for the fans of Newcastle United, who it appears have made a bargain all of their own.

Perhaps understandable though, given that Newcastle United fans last saw their side win a trophy of substance with the now defunct Inter City Fairs Cup win in 1969 and long before that, their last FA Cup trophy in 1955 and Division One title in 1927