Newcastle fans never get it easy do they? Whilst rumours abound about a possible takeover of Newcastle, it seems that even the Bin Ladens want a piece of the action. Whilst at least it's not Osama himself who's interested, it's still a bit...well, weird. If Osama took over, I can't imagine him coming to watch many of the games in person, what with him being the most wanted man alive and everything.

Of course, it's far more likely that American investor InterMedia Partners will buy the club than the Bin Ladens, as the company has confirmed that it was approached regarding a possible takeover of Newcastle. Ahh...InterMedia Partners, it sounds so warm and fuzzy doesn't it? If you want an owner who's passionate and involved in the club (and who's preferably a supporter themselves), then some big, faceless American company is hardly what you want.

Seeing as football is essentially a business as much as it is a game, you wouldn't be surprised if current Newcastle owner Mike Ashley packed up and sold up if he could make a tidy profit. One thing that I'm sure Newcastle fans won't want to see is a tightening of the purse strings, as they realise that Keegan still needs to bring players in and bulk up their squad if they want to realistically compete for a European place.

It's a difficult one, because part of being a football fan is wanting your club to be as good as they can possibly be. And if you've got an investor who can just hurl mega-millions into the club and sign you pretty much whoever you want, then that's not going to hurt you become a better team.

On the other hand, if you've got some clueless, faceless company who have no understanding of football, who have no rapport with the fans, and who will basically do whatever they want for the sake of profit and fulfilling personal agendas, then you'll probably be wishing for the good old days when you had to get players on the cheap and your manager actually got a say over who he bought and who he could choose to play.

Bringing Keegan back to St James' Park was always going to be a gamble, especially given how long he hadn't been involved in the game, but now he's there, he needs support. Newcastle need to go through a period of stability, where they're not going through managers or changing owners or having too many players shifting around.

Of course, it's quite possible that this is all just speculation anyway, but even as a neutral, I'd like to see some stability at Newcastle United. As dirty as their defence has been in recent seasons, I just think that a midfield with the likes of Alan Smith, James Milner, Nicky Butt, Geremi, Damien Duff, Emre, LuaLua and...err...Joey Barton, should be competing for more than a mid-low table position.

What do Newcastle fans think of a possible takeover? Would you like to see more money being pumped in and a new investor, or would you like to see Mike Ashley stay? Do you think Ashley's done a good job so far, or do you think it's time for him to leave? Do you think Ashley can bring stability to the club and give Keegan his backing for seasons to come?