Chris Mort

Mort is a lawyer for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where he is co-head of the leisure sector group and oversees relationships with companies in the gaming, holidays, hotels, pubs and sports sectors.[1]

Mort worked for Mike Ashley on his takeover of Newcastle United,[2] and took over as chairman of the club on 24 July 2007, representing Ashley.[3]

Mort and Ashley sacked manager Sam Allardyce in January 2008. Kevin Keegan was appointed as his successor.

In May 2008, it was widely speculated that Mort would leave the club, returning to his job at the law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London. In his time as chairman of the club, Mort was very popular with the fans of the club, taking time out to speak with fans and take their opinions on certain aspects of how the club was run. He also set up the Newcastle United Foundation to lead on the club's charitable work in the north-east and rebuilt the club's relationship with the Newcastle community and local media.

He left the club in June 2008 and was replaced by Derek Llambias in the role of managing director.[4] Many fans felt that because of Mort's departure, relations between the board and manager Kevin Keegan soured and resulted in Keegan's resignation. Many feel that Mort would have handled this situation much better than his replacement Derek Llambias.

Supporters have encouraged Mort to return to the club, and he was even linked by the media with a return to Newcastle after being spotted at several games. However, he responded stating that he was just a supporter of the team nowadays.