Cheer up James, at least you have the league’s best board

Things may a little bit pony on the pitch for Aston Villa right now, but according to a study published today, Martin O’Neill’s side are top of the league when it comes to their owners and board members.

A “not-for-profit” research think tank called Tomorrow’s Company had nothing else to do, so they ranked the Premier League’s clubs according to something called “Stewardship”. Spokesman Mark Goyder explains:

“Stewardship means handing something on to the next generation in better shape than you inherited it, and not just the next quarter’s results.”

Essentially measuring whether owners consider their clubs a short term cash cow or a long term asset, Stewardship is assessed by five criteria: putting the club first (are owners using the club to make a quick buck or are they planning for the long term future?), long termism (youth policies, debt management, stadium improvements etc), clarity of purpose (can the board be trusted not to meddle with the team?), respect for fans and local community and passion (are the board doing the right thing for the club and the game in general?).

This all sounds like an incredibly subjective test that supports itself with pithy business jargon, but you can check out the Stewardship league table after the jump…

Kuwaiti could take control of the Toon as soon as next week

After failed attempts from Indian entrepreneur Anil Ambani, the Bin Laden family and numerous consortia, it seems that a Kuwaiti named Nasser Al-Kharafi (not ‘Masser’, as The Telegraph seems to believe) will soon drag Mike Ashley away from the bar long enough to thrash out the sale of Newcastle United.

Al-Kharafi, the world’s 48th richest man according to Forbes Magazine, is said to be close to agreeing a £300m price for the Magpies, and after studying the club’s finances could be set for a takeover as soon as next week.

Here’s what The Spoiler has been able to discover thus far about the middle eastern billionaire:

* Al-Kharafi is 64, and inherited most of his £9bn estimated net worth.
* Most of his money was made through a family construction company, but he also heads M.A. Kharafi & Sons, a private conglomerate with hundreds of subsidiaries and affiliates. It’s food division owns the middle eastern franchises for Pizza Hut, TGI Fridays, KFC, Wimpy and Krispy Kreme (is this what attracted Ashley?)
* He lives in Kuwait City, and is married with five children.
* He is neither a rotund drunk, nor a ‘cockney’.

Despite insisting on a much higher price a few months ago, it seems Ashley is now willing to accept a lower price for the club he paid around £134m for. Perhaps after losing a reported £1bn in the credit crisis, the much maligned businessman is ready to cut his losses.