Opinion
The Newcastle United owners a world away from the Mike Ashley promises of the past, with Tuesday’s media exclusive of a Saudi Arabia PIF Project 2030 for the football club.
The exclusive from [The Telegraph](https://www.themag.co.uk/2025/03/saudi-arabia-pif-renew-commitment-to-newcastle-united-five-year-plan-on-and-off-pitch/) stated that there will be a renewed push from the Saudi Arabia PIF/Newcastle United owners with a five year plan to make massive progress on and off the pitch.
The report saying that the Saudi Arabia PIF have renewed their commitment to Newcastle United and are willing to do everything they can to make the club successful, on and off the pitch.
Late February saw Saudi Arabia PIF Governor Yasir Al Rumayyan and others fly into Newcastle to plot the short and long-term future of the club, in terms of progressing things.
As well as budgets for this summer’s transfer window and beyond, top of the agenda was the delivery of a much bigger new stadium, with an official announcement to come, confirming the plans of the (current!) Newcastle United owners.
All of this a world away from Mike Ashley and his infamous ‘five year plans’ when he was killing off our football club, slowly but surely.
**Mike Ashley and his five year plan(s) – A history lesson**
Mike Ashley was always keen on his five year plans when at Newcastle United.
Regularly, for well over a decade, the club and Ashley’s PR machine claimed that any number of five year plans were in progress (see below).
This is quite ironic when Newcastle United, under that owner, were clearly a football club who only lived/existed from one season to the next, or cynics may even claim, they lived from week to week.
It was painfully transparent that Mike Ashley used the ‘five year plan’ claims to try and present a public facade at the club which suggested there was some kind of plan to grow the club over a long period of time. A blatant attempt to try and shift focus from the here and now.
For example, back in October 2018, Mike Ashley’s people’s briefing The Chronicle with: ‘_Benitez is keen to have more financial power at St James Park but also wants to make changes at the club’s Academy and wants a better training ground. T__he Sunday Sun has learned that all three of those conditions could be met between over a five-year period – which would be the course of the initial contract offered to Benitez back in June.’_
Wiith Mike Ashley then under the spotlight and more pressure than ever before at Newcastle United, we were presented with this nonsense from his PR machine. Supposed to believe that if we (and Rafa Benitez) just showed a little patience, for five years, ‘everything’ he/we want will happen.
I believed this just about as much as I did that Mike Ashley was genuine about the club being properly up for sale back in 2008, it having been supposedly just bad luck that it still hadn’t been sold a decade later.
Desperate moves from the Ashley camp to stifle protests…
**The Chronicle – February 2009:**
_‘United have mapped out their future and are banking on their youth and academy system to bring through the best in homegrown and foreign talent._
_Managing director Derek Llambias (pictured above with Mike Ashley) told the Chronicle:_
_“In five years’ time I would hope we would be challenging for everything._
_“We hope to be like an Aston Villa but you need to have solid grounding under your feet._
_“Mike isn’t afraid to spend money out of his own pocket._
_“We aren’t a selling club, we’re a buying club._
_“We are out there in the market._”
**Club statement – June 2009:**
_“The Board have set a five year plan to promote core values of credibility, viability and sustainability both on and off the field of play at Newcastle United.”_
**United for Newcastle meeting – February 2011:**
_‘Even if the club reaches the Champions League in five years, those prices will be the same under the (10 year) deal.’_
**[Derek Llambias](//www.themag.co.uk/2015/02/must-read-rangers-admit-derek-llambias-newcastle-claims-misleading/) – September 2011**
_‘From time to time we are approached by people claiming to have an interest in buying the club. Our message to them is clear: buy a box for a commitment of five-seasons and then we’ll know you’re serious.’_
**Eddie Rutherford (Head of Facilities) – September 2018**
_“If I say I want all this money to do everything I want to do in one go, I’m not going to get it so you need to be sensible. These are things we need to do, and do it in a nice progression._
_“Five years ago to today, it’s absolutely phenomenal so I expect the same in five years time.”_
**The Chronicle – October 2018**
_“Benitez is keen to have more financial power at St James Park but also wants to make changes at the club’s Academy and wants a better training ground._
_“The Sunday Sun has learned that all three of those conditions could be met between over a five-year period – which would be the course of the initial contract offered to Benitez back in June.”_
Imagine where we would be now, if we still had Mike Ashley, Lee Charnley and Steve Bruce to ‘rely’ on?
What would their ‘Project 2030’ have looked like???