Newcastle fans unfurled a giant banner celebrating a year since their £305million takeover, including a dig at talkSPORT host Simon Jordan.
The Magpies’ 5-1 win over Brentford showed they are in a far different place To October 7, 2021, revitalised on and off the pitch following Mike Ashley’s departure.
The consortium led by Amanda Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund finally completed their takeover as a long-running saga came to an end with fans overjoyed.
TalkSPORT host and ex-owner of Crystal Palace, however, didn’t see the deal coming. JordanFamously, he ruled out a takeover.
And his now-infamous quote featured on the gigantic banner which celebrated the takeover’s one year anniversary.
It read: “TALKSPORT: NUFC TAKEOVER ‘DEADER THAN A DEAD THING FROM DEAD LAND’.”
Jordan has since confessed he got it ‘completely wrong’ after theorising that a streaming dispute with Qatar network beIN SPORTS could not be overcome.
But it was soon enough, and Newcastle fans were able to see the funny side of things a year later.
Jordan was left grinning when Jim White, co-host of the show, discussed his thoughts.
Including the words that there was ‘not a cat in hell’s chance’ the deal would go through, Jordan instead jokingly said his comments were just a call to action, which paid off.
“You’ve got to see it for what it is, I put a CTA out there, a call to action,” he said.
“And it triggered a response that I never imagined, that the Saudis copped to the fact that they pirated their broadcasters and they fell on their sword.
“They admitted they pirated beIN SPORTS and the deal was done. That’s me!
“I take credit for putting out a robust statement saying that, ‘it’s deader than a dead thing from dead land’, which was my credibility at the time!
“Ultimately I got an email through around an hour later from someone quite influential, that said that the Saudis has copped to the piracy issue between BeIN and the Saudi broadcaster, which will lead to a potential situation with the Premier League.
“I remember saying to Luke [the producer] when I walked out the door, ‘Oh God, I think I’m going to find myself in a invidious position’.
“You’ve got to see the psychological effect of a significant call to action, calling people out, because people raise their games.”
