To say that Newcastle United has undergone a complete 180 since the summer of 2021 would be quite the understatement.
Following the takeover, brokered by Amanda Staveley and PCP Capital Partners, we’ve gone from a near-certainty to be relegated under Steve Bruce to enjoying Champions League nights at St James’ Park once again, bringing in world class talent, and improving the club in all areas.
One of the most remarkable transformations that has happened at the club over the past four years has been our training ground and accompanying facilities.
And in a fresh interview, Staveley emphasises how it was one of the very first issues she and the new owners addressed upon their arrival, and how crucial it was that they quickly fixed it up before we could attract any new players.
Speaking on The High Performance Podcast with Jake Humphrey, Staveley tore into the quality of the training ground and facilities that she and the new owners inherited from Mike Ashley.
_“The training ground was a joke. We had to be able to attract players immediately, so we couldn’t just say ‘Well okay, we’re going to develop a fantastic new training ground and it’s going to take 18 months to do the plans and it’ll take two years to develop’. We needed to solve the problem there and then.”_
_“So my husband and his brother and the PIF team and Jamie (Reuben), we put a plan together to do that, and to take what we had and train it into which now, when you go up, is really lovely.”_
_“I mean, the food was bad. People were almost having cold baths, but it was just like ice buckets, no cryotherapy. All the lack of facilities you need.”_
Staveley’s words instantly remind us of _that_ photo from the Steve McClaren days when the likes of Moussa Sissoko and Jack Colback recovered in giant bins as makeshift ice baths.
Considering the state the club was in back in November 2021, actually making us look at least more presentable and caring for player welfare was an easy win for the new owners to achieve.
The transformation of the training ground and club facilities has been nothing short of staggering, with Darsley Park in Benton even set to be expanded and improved even further by next year.
And Staveley is certainly right in how addressing the training ground issue looks to have been imperative to both bringing in new players and keeping current squad stars.
Eddie Howe commented back in 2023 that “A couple of players have came back after not being here for a while and have been blown away by the change.”