Sincere congratulations to Newcastle and their devoted fans on ending their trophy drought.
There has been a shift in tone at Newcastle over the past month; more bullish, more determined, more aspirational. One trophy was never the plan; domestic and European domination was the original goal — and that target is back on the agenda.
It is no coincidence that this followed a delegation from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Newcastle’s majority owners, visiting Tyneside last month. Departmental and infrastructure-project presentations were made to Yasir Al-Rumayyan, PIF’s governor and Newcastle’s chairman, who reaffirmed the wealth fund’s commitment to turning the club into serial trophy winners and Champions League participants by the end of the decade.
Making Newcastle a “sustainable top-six club” was the soundbite from club executives throughout 2024. So far this calendar year, the noises have become bolder; more reminiscent of Al-Rumayyan’s declaration on Amazon Prime’s “We Are Newcastle United” documentary that the aim was to be “No 1”.
Al-Rumayyan shouted to supporters at Wembley that the Carabao Cup is “the first, but not the last” trophy and the chairman is said to have tasked every department with expediting the process by which Newcastle can close the gap on the established elite. Progress will not be linear, and one piece of silverware does not immediately lead to a dynasty, but there is a conviction that multiple trophies will follow.
What feels like the interminable stadium question persists, although Al-Rumayyan was briefed about proposals. No final decision has been made, with renovating and extending St James’ still a live option, even if some members of the hierarchy have made it clear their preference is to construct a new stadium on nearby Leazes Park, with a capacity of between 65,000-70,000 expected (but an exact figure not yet determined).
The need to build a new state-of-the-art training ground has also been acknowledged publicly, with efforts to secure a site and then grant planning permission accelerating. As with the stadium, the exact source of funding is unclear, even if the desire to build both is there, though neither is likely to be completed until well into the 2030s.
Associated-party transaction (APT) and PSR rules have stunted the pace of Newcastle’s growth, given that commercial revenues have not been able to balloon (despite expanding massively), and Eales did not reject the suggestion that the club may look to capitalise on Manchester City’s APT recent arbitration victory.
The third-tier UEFA Conference League is not the European competition Newcastle really want to be in (they would enter at the play-off round); the Champions League, and to a lesser degree the Europa League, bring greater prestige and, importantly, are far more lucrative. With the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) continuing to constrict Newcastle, every revenue stream requires maximising — and the Champions League is game-changing financially, even more so following its revamp.
Following a year of whispers, of suggestions that PIF’s interest was waning, the noises are that PIF has privately reasserted its wider ambitions, The Carabao Cup victory has been momentous, but it is intended to represent the start, not the end, of Newcastle’s rise.
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