Chris Mort is to step down as Newcastle chairman a year after replacing Freddy Shepherd at the helm.
It is understood the top City lawyer, who took a year's sabbatical to
spearhead owner Mike Ashley's vision for the future at St James' Park, could
leave the club within a matter of weeks.
Mort has overseen the transition from the Shepherd era and a restructuring of
the club during his chairmanship, and his reign has been far from uneventful.
He initially arrived on Tyneside to work alongside Shepherd, who had earlier
sold his shares to Ashley to ease him towards a £134.4million takeover, but was
quickly handed the reins as the former chairman ended his long association with
the Magpies.
Sam Allardyce was already in place as manager when the pair arrived, but
having overseen his summer recruitment drive, backed by a relatively modest net
investment of around £10million, they dispensed with his services in January
after a dreadful run of results.
They sprang a major surprise when they replaced Allardyce with Kevin Keegan,
and although even he found the going tough in the early stages, the club's
Barclays Premier League status was secured long before the campaign drew to a
close.
However, it is away from the football side of things that Mort has done much
of his work, overseeing a drive to address Newcastle's £100million debt burden
and working to improve the club's image both inside and outside the city.
The Magpies are yet to confirm Mort's departure, or the identity of his
replacement.
But significantly, Ashley's long-term associate Derek Llambias was appointed
deputy chairman earlier this month and it would be no surprise if his name was
high on the list of potential successors.
