The stories as they piece together seem to be that the good Sheikh was looking for an English team to invest in and he wanted one which was not a top team, but had potential. On the checklist were a number of things they ideally wanted - a strong tradition of support, preferably a "sleeping giant" club not fulfilling its potential, with a good stadium which could be expanded, available at a sensible price. I'm not sure how many clubs Mansour and Khaldoon looked although Newcastle and Everton get mentioned a lot. I think Garry Cook has said in interviews that the Sheikh had just rejected one club when one of his contacts (or something) made him aware of their interest and he immediately leaped at the chance, and made an approach to the Sheikh himself. He was asked to make a presentation for them (in the interview he said that he still keeps the powerpoint file he used as a keepsake), and his presentation entirely won over the delegation and from that moment on it was history.
