Maybe now Newcastle can finally move on.

The time has come where Newcastle United may finally be able to move on from the saga that has made them the laughing stock of football over the last few months. Two groups have come up with the cash and matched Mike Ashley’s £100 million value for the club he has spent over £135m on since he arrived as owner only a couple of years ago.

The news means that the completion of a sale for the football club may only be a few days away and it would allow Newcastle to move forward, putting the past behind them and giving the club the best possible chance of getting back into the Premier League.

It is no secret that the lack of progress that Newcastle have been able to make during the summer transfer window is down to the fact that ownership is about to change hands. Therefore it would have been impossible to make important decisions such as structuring a budget and appointing Alan Shearer as permanent manager. Newcastle are set to lose a lot of players in the next two or three weeks and had this whole affair been sorted out then these players may have been persuaded to stay.

This will all come as welcome news to the fans as well who just want to get back some of the respect that they eagerly want to display and hold for their own football club. A lot of fans were falling out of love with the side because of the way the club was being run and now that there is the prospect of new ownership and a new start, it could mean that the smiles appear back on the faces of Newcastle fans.

However, everyone connected with the club should proceed with caution because the identity of the potential new owners is being kept a secret. A Singapore based group is said to have made a bid and although this may end up being financially lucrative, Newcastle will have new owners with no experience of the English game and a group of people that appear on the surface as intent on maximising the business side of the football club.

On the other hand the most realistic option seems to be former chairman, Freddy Shepherd. If it is this bid, which is the most successful, then Toon fans will shudder because a lot of them put the club’s failings down to this very man. He was the top dog when Newcastle were making progress in the Kevin Keegan era some years ago but he never showed the ambition or want for Newcastle to move forward and secure that first Premier League crown, which probably would have kept them out of the current position they are in.

Dress it up in any fashion, the main point is that Newcastle should not find themselves where they currently are and this would be a massive step forward because it means an end to the regime that got them relegated. The options for the future would then be very simple as the new owners would clearly have a sole goal of getting the club back into the top-flight and where it belongs.

They would do well to appoint Alan Shearer straight away for the simple reason that he is a very underrated manager. This is not even mentioning how much he loves the club and it would be a sensible move for all parties. Shearer would be able to create a respectful and honest club that would work tirelessly to banish the memories of the laughs and jokes that have constantly been aimed at Newcastle this year. This would have hurt and he will be intent on doing something about it.

New owners would probably be able to come in and nicely settle the finances of the club. The cost of relegation in the modern game runs into tens of millions of pounds and you do need someone in charge who has a bit of business prowess in order for the club to not run further into financial ruin. In this sense it would make sense to have owners that new how to run a large business. The limitations of what and who is available could be laid out and allow the club to perform to their maximums.

For Newcastle to have any chance of getting back into the Premier League, they need to keep the large part of their playing squad together. The Championship is a very competitive league and you need to have a strong squad that is full of quality in order to compete. Now that new owners seem to have been able to establish contact, it means that the club can focus on playing and coach staff as opposed to needless administrative tasks that should not even be contemplated.

The most important step that new owners would allow the club to take is putting a smile back on the face of every Newcastle fan in the country. For so long they have had to put up with this club being in the news for all of the wrong reasons and they must all be sick and tired of having fun made out of them and their club on an almost daily basis. If some of Newcastle’s reputation can be reinstalled that the club can come out flying at the start of next season and take to the Championship like a duck to water.

A lot of fans from football clubs up and down the country would chat to you all day long about how much they love their side but not one of them would display the same passion and affection as a Newcastle supporter. Newcastle are too big to be in their current predicament and it is encouraging that finally, after so long, someone seems to have come up with the money and is about to do something about it. One thing is for sure, the lessons that have not already been learnt certainly will be by the time all of the action kicks off again, if they aren’t then a lot of people are going to lose the sympathy and respect they still hold for this football club.