Moat and Shearer look on as Toon take the top spot
NEWCASTLE UTD (1) vs LEICESTER CITY (0)
PROSPECTIVE buyer Barry Moat and would-be manager Alan Shearer watched from the stands as Newcastle climbed to the top of the Championship with this victory.
Moat and Shearer looked on alongside owner Mike Ashley as Danny Guthrie’s 52nd minute strike handed the Magpies a fourth successive win.
Local businessman Moat was handed extra time last week to put financial arrangements in place for launching a formal bid for the club.
But he and Shearer are still far from sitting comfortably at St James’s Park with reports suggesting that a New York-based consortium were planning to hijack any prospective deal and open takeover talks with Ashley and chief executive Derek Llambias in the next 48 hours.
Victory was sweet for Toon caretaker boss Chris Hughton, whose options have been severely limited by a series of injuries. Indeed not one of his seven substitutes named had made a league start between them.
Guthrie’s thumping drive from the edge of the box settled a game of few chances.