Newcastle World journalist Liam Kennedy has claimed that the club's imminent court hearing regarding a takeover could throw up as many new questions as it provides answers.

What is set to happen this week?

On Wednesday, there is set to be a Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT) case between the Premier League and Newcastle owner Mike Ashley to decide how the takeover bid at St James' Park will proceed.

An ideal scenario for the club's supporters would be to gain a clear understanding of how things are progressing, and whether the takeover is likely to be successful.

However, Kennedy is not convinced that Wednesday's meeting will go swimmingly for the club and their fans.

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What did Kennedy say about the CAT case?

Kennedy believes that the CAT case could raise a number of new questions, leaving everyone associated with the North East team frustrated at how much this proposed takeover is dragging on.

Speaking about the issue to GIVEMESPORT, he said: “I think it feels like the 29th could be a day for answers. But it also feels like it could pose a whole set of new questions as well. And that would become equally frustrating for Newcastle United fans. They may feel like we’re getting towards answers but the delays could come again when we’re talking about appeals.”

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Is this takeover talk affecting Newcastle on the pitch?

It certainly can't be helping.

The side have started the season poorly, picking up just three points from their opening six league fixtures, and they are still waiting for their first win of the campaign across all competitions. 

Manager Steve Bruce would surely want to know if things are moving forwards so that he can plan for future transfer windows and think about strengthening his side so that they can move away from the relegation zone.

However, the arbitration hearing, which will ultimately decide whether the takeover can take place or not, is only set to resume in 2022, meaning that the club are expected to have this issue hanging over them for the majority of the season, at least.

This uncertainty cannot be good for morale on Tyneside, but Bruce must try to galvanise his players and put the off-field problems to one side. If he fails to do this, Newcastle's winless streak could continue for some time, and then the team would be in significant danger of suffering their third relegation from the Premier League in the last 13 seasons.