Sam Allardyce
Sam Allardyce
A lot has changed since Sam Allardyce managed Newcastle United and West Ham. Although you would not necessarily know it.
"It's a lot easier at than it is in because most of the foreign players for some unknown reason prefer London than anywhere else," the former England boss said.
West Ham? Really?! Whatever about Chelsea, and the Blues' superior wage bill, it is hard to imagine the Hammers beating Newcastle to many signings this summer, but such claims are nothing new.
Gabby Agbonlahor once bizarrely suggested that players would sooner take a pay cut to join Brentford because they 'don't want to live in Newcastle'.
Another former England international, Trevor Sinclair, said that London is 'an iconic city that people want to live in and Newcastle is not'.
Danny Murphy argued that 'most people would favour London than Newcastle' while .
Deeney even declared that it was 'difficult to get people there' - despite Newcastle signing Alexander Isak, Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali, who have all spoken fondly of the area
Going back further, there is a reason why Malcolm MacDonald, John Anderson and Olivier Bernard still live in the North East - long after retiring.
There is a reason why Jonjo Shelvey sold a house in the capital, , because the 33-year-old, his wife and kids love the region so much.
There is a reason why other Londoners like Rob Lee, Les Ferdinand and Warren Barton look back on their time in Newcastle as some of the happiest years of their lives.
Even Mikel Merino, who only spent a season at Newcastle, once told ChronicleLive that the 'city was really beautiful and the people there showed me a lot of love', which helped the midfielder to feel at 'home'.
Players naturally have their preferences - Joao Pedro, for instance, was already settled down south ahead of leaving Brighton for Chelsea - but the prospect of moving to the North East certainly did not put the forward off before the black-and-whites instead moved for Isak in 2022.
Although Newcastle have missed out on Pedro, Eddie Howe has 'never sensed' that geography has been an issue since taking charge.
"I think the biggest issue with the players is that they want to come to a club that they sense is moving forward and has a chance to win trophies and, of course, financial terms is an issue, too," the Magpies boss said a couple of months ago.
"Our PSR position is an issue in that. So there are those challenges, but it's a brilliant place to live and I've never had any issue with that.
"I came in without knowledge of it. I'd been here as an opposition manager but I'd never spent any time in the area and I've been pleasantly surprised. My family love it here. I enjoy being here as well."
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