Michael Owen,  Alan Shearer,  Mike Ashley,  Now, the Profitable Group has also made an appearance. The headlines have been full of it since Newcastle United lost their bid to stay in the Premiership. But that was weeks ago in May and there one big question the Toon Army wants answering. What exactly is the future of the famous Tyneside club?

Fans suffered enough on the day their hero Shearer failed to wave his magic wand and save Newcastle from relegation. Isn’t it time to put them out of their misery?

There’s just over two months to go before the start of the new season and if the Magpies are to launch a bid for automatic promotion, things need to be settled pretty soon. If not, Newcastle will start the season in unsettled mode and points lost early on could prove absolutely crucial at the end. Stability is essential and the only way to achieve that is to have a happy squad, a manager everyone admires and respects and an owner ready to take Newcastle back to the glory days.

So, there are actually three fundamental questions to be resolved. Firstly, the sale of the club. Mike Ashley has made no bones about the fact that he made big mistakes and has lost out financially. He is asking 100 million pounds for Newcastle United and for the right person or group, that might still turn out to be quite a bargain. But who? The latest reports suggest the Singapore-based Profitable Group which involves former Liverpool midfielder Steve McMahon are interested.

Let’s hope this shows some promise. Newcastle needs a new owner with a bit of money to splash out on new players and a figure-head such as McMahon will guarantee some extra glitter. More importantly, the group is indicating that it would like to keep Alan Shearer on as manager, a decision which would be universally popular with the Toon Army. Does Shearer himself know what is going on? He had indicated that, by now, he would know his future, until Mike Ashley stepped in with his bombshell of putting the club on the open market. Will Shearer wait for the final outcome? He has undoubtedly got other commitments and under any new owner, there will still have to be prolonged talks about how much money can be spent on players, the strategy etc.

The whole time-line is getting pretty close to the start of the new season and the weeks are rolling by with speed. Let’s assume any bid by the Profitable Group works out and Alan Shearer is confirmed as the new permanent manager. Two questions resolved for the fans. The third has to be about the future of Michael Owen. Reports that Aston Villa have made an offer for the out-of-form striker have been dismissed as rubbish by manager Martin O’Neill and we can take this as gospel. Owen, now 29, is out of contract at Newcastle but his form of late, coupled with injury problems, won’t make him an attractive proposition, especially when he is reputed to want to earn around three million pounds a year.

Owen cost the Magpies 16 million pounds from Real Madrid in 2005 and he seems a sensible enough chap to realise that he has to reduce his wage demands if he wants to continue in top-flight football. Owen’s best bet would be to stay with Newcastle United and try to capture some of his sparkling form of yesteryear because surely it is still there somewhere. Whether Shearer would want him remains to be seen. Let’s just hope for the Toon Army’s sake that some decisions are firmed up very quickly so Newcastle can look forward to the new season, not dread it.