ANANDA KRISHNAN TO BUY NEWCASTLE UNITED?

Malaysians still pay considerably high monthly subscription fees for Astro to enable this billionaire to collect enough riches to buy Newcastle United. Of course as in many things in Malaysia, we don't really know exactly where else the money comes from.

Revealed: Man Who Wants Toon

By CARL LONG
Published: 04 Jul 2009

A RECLUSIVE Malaysian billionaire has jumped to the head of the queue to buy Newcastle.

Media mogul Ananda Krishnan is closing in on a deal to end Mike Ashley's nightmare two-year Toon reign - and hopes to make an announcement early next week.

The £95million deal for the club represents loose change to the 71-year-old, who is South East Asia's third-richest man worth £4.5billion.

Other consortia remain in the running to buy the crisis club.

But after making the first significant move in the drawn-out sale, Krishnan is the favourite to take control after meeting Ashley's drastically-reduced asking price - almost £40m less than the sportswear tycoon paid in 2007.

The owner-in-waiting is believed to favour Alan Shearer to be the club's manager.

Like Ashley, Krishnan has kept a low profile as he has built up a powerful business portfolio which includes major interests in oil, entertainment, telecoms and shipping.

Over the years, he has donated millions of pounds to charities and a source said: "Mr Krishnan shuns public exposure and likes to keep a low profile for someone of his stature."

Figures have yet to be confirmed but a significant kitty would be made available for Shearer to use in the transfer market.

NEWCASTLE UNITED RELEGATED, PAOLO MALDINI'S LAST MATCH

Alan Shearer could not stop the Magpies from losing the last match of the season, 0-1 to Aston Villa. It reminds of Leeds United's fate a few seasons back. I hope the Magpies will bounce back soon!

In Italy, Paolo Maldini played his last match of his competitive career with a 2-3 defeat at the feet of AS Roma. Maldini is probably the oldest player in Serie A.

EPL SEASON FINALE!

Congratulations to Liverpool captain, Stevie G. for being voted England's Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers' Association. He was ahead of Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney. He has scored the highest amount of goals so far in a single season comparing to all the previous seasons since his football career. He will have an extremely difficult task at hand to stop Manchester United from winning the EPL crown yet again. There are only two matches left for both of them and The Red Devils are leading with 6 points.

The remaining matches are:
(16 May 2009) Manchester United (1st) VS. Arsenal (4th)
(17 May 2009) West Bromwich Albion (20th) VS. Liverpool (2nd)
(24 May 2009) Manchester United (1st) VS. Hull City (18th)
(24 May 2009) Liverpool (2nd) VS. Tottenham Hotspur (8th)

As for Chelsea, they are 3 points behind Liverpool. The best they can do is to try finishing second. If not, they can still maintain their current position at 3rd even if they lose the two remaining matches.

The remaining matches are:
(17 May 2009) Chelsea (3rd) VS. Blackburn Rovers (14th)
(24 may 2009) Sunderland (16th) VS. Chelsea (3rd)

What about Arsenal? Nothing they do in the next two matches will make a difference so they will have to go for the Champions League qualifying rounds to quality for next season. They really need to consider spending a bit to give the talents in the team some assurance of staying. I believe all players dream of winning titles.

The remaining matches are:
(16 May 2009) Manchester United (1st) VS. Arsenal (4th)
(24 May 2009) Arsenal (4th) VS. Stoke City (12th)

At the bottom of the table, Newcastle United is fighting to survive the relegation battle. They are tied on points with Hull City with Middlesbrough and West Bromwich Albion just 3 points behind. Even with Shearer at the helm, they are still struggling to stay in the league for next season. They have two very tough matches ahead.

The remaining matches are:
(16 May 2009) Newcastle United (17th) VS. Fulham (7th)
(24 May 2009) Aston Villa (5th) VS. Newcastle United (17th)

ALAN SHEARER BACK TO THE MAGPIES?

Well, there have been many links in the past of Shearer coming back to Newcastle United but it didn't materialize. Will it happen this time? Or it will not again?