On the day Yasir Al-Rumayyan publicly stepped away from the ill-fated misadventure of LIV Golf, the Titleist clubs unloaded from the back of his chauffeur-driven Mercedes at Matfen Hall suggested his private love for the sport remains.
Here in Northumberland, with the sun cracking the flags of the pristine greens on the championship course, Al-Rumayyan might well have been tempted to side-step the country mansion in front of him, seduced instead to the tee box. If only.
Rather, at 12.30pm on Wednesday, he walked between the gold ropes of the Gothic-style entrance, through the Great Hall and its stained-glass windows and into the Morning Room, which today doubled as Newcastle United’s boardroom. After a below-par season on the football pitch, this was no time for golf. The governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund will spend two nights here – the venue has been exclusively booked – before Newcastle host Brighton on Saturday.
Beyond the windows of the Morning Room was the 18th hole, not that those on the inside could see it. This time, the blinds were down. Last year, during the same Saudi-led summit, window-cleaners polished the panes in what was a security oversight. Or maybe they had pistols in their buckets after all.
Seven minutes before Al-Rumayyan’s convoy sped to the front door, Eddie Howe and assistant Jason Tindall had sent dust clouds into the country air as their high-powered SUVs searched for a space that did not exist in the gravel car park nearby. No doubt keen to get inside the building before the scheduled arrival of the club chairman, they improvised and parked kerbside, closer to the Grade II-listed hotel.
At the entrance, chief executive David Hopkinson was waiting to greet the new arrivals, information having been relayed that Al-Rumayyan’s £50million private jet had touched down at 11.35am, 15 miles away at a private airstrip next door to Newcastle Airport. The governor of the Public Investment Fund will spend two nights here before Newcastle host Brighton on Saturday.
Newcastle didn’t want anyone to make it inside the grounds of Matfen Hall as their big hitters met for a crucial summit – but that did not stop our Chief Football Reporter Craig Hope
On the day he packed in LIV Golf, Yasir Al-Rumayyan showed where his priorities lie by unloading his clubs at Matfen Hall
The venue is a 19th-century mansion in Northumberland, but today its Morning Room doubled as Newcastle United’s boardroom
With him is a 25-person party from PIF, in attendance for a series of meetings that should determine the future of the club’s home – be that a new stadium or St James’ Park renovation – as well as the future of Howe himself.
The head coach looked relaxed in a fitted black jersey, sleeves rolled mid-arm length and a gravel-crunching purpose to his stride, ready for business.
So warm was it, the hotel had laid out deckchairs on the manicured lawns. But, for Howe, the hotseat awaited inside. This was his chance to offer reason for a Premier League campaign that has his team 14th in the table, but also to learn from PIF the roadmap for improvement, if he is to stay. All parties want that to be the case.
After waiting for the top brass to report – co-owner Jamie Reuben was another dispatched by a spaceship-like people-carrier – I made for the entrance, expecting the gold ropes to be placed across my path. Not so.
‘Can I have a coffee inside?’ I asked the hotel manager, with security happy for him to make the call. ‘I was here last year and the coffee is good, it’s the only reason I’m back.’
The charm offensive, although the coffee genuinely is good, soon opened the door to the 1832 cocktail bar, yards from the Morning Room. For all the conjecture, planning and presentations the other side of the door, my new surrounds were calmer, the velvet Chesterfields overlooking the fairway.
A driver from the delegation waited patiently, governed not by time but by the governor, Al-Rumayyan. Indeed, given the PIF chief is only here for this nature of meeting once a year and the depth of the agenda to be worked through, the shadow of the flag on the 18th would have lengthened by the time folk finally emerged from the summit.
Howe and Tindall were there throughout the day, with lunch served in the Emerald Restaurant, an offering of the finest meats and fish. There was certainly plenty to chew over.
There was plenty on the agenda for Al-Rumayyan and head coach Eddie Howe (right), who has presided over a disappointing Premier League campaign
Co-owner Jamie Reuben was another dispatched by a spaceship-like people-carrier
Discussions will continue on Friday, probably after Al-Rumayyan plays his first round of golf since calling time on LIV. If that retreat gave the impression that Newcastle could be next to go from PIF’s sports portfolio, it was not the message here.
This, says sources, only reaffirms their commitment to the club. As one insider said: ‘Look where they are on the day they announce their withdrawal from LIV.’
Matfen Hall is so stately that, by late afternoon and beneath clear blue skies, it resembled a scene from centuries past. Inside, however, it is the decisions in the Morning Room that will colour the Newcastle United of tomorrow.
