Newcastle United fans have witnessed an up and down season.
Up to this point 38 matches played, with 17 wins, 13 defeats and 8 draws.
Of course, whilst the results in other competitions have seen 8 wins and only 4 defeats (Barcelona, Marseille and twice to Man City). It is the Premier League where Newcastle United have struggled for form and consistency, as many defeats as victories with 9 of each.
However, for some Newcastle United fans, it is all doom and gloom, nothing at all to be positive about.
Admittedly, the worst reaction has been on social media where the aim of most posters is to instigate reactions and harvest clicks, but there has also been an upsurge of “woe-is-me-ism” on The Mag comments section at the same time.
For example, even after a thoroughly uplifting performance in Paris, where we were once again thwarted by the opposition’s twelfth man, some diehards were still berating Eddie Howe for being stuck in his ways and one dimensional. He only changed the formation and tactics against PSG, they say, because he had to due to the absence of our two Brazilian amigos.
Of course, we’re all entitled to our own opinion and some of the more critical posters are at least consistent in their pessimistic outlook. Being critical of our current situation doesn’t automatically make someone a Mackem or a troll. Whether the finger is pointed at Eddie, the owners, the players or even the fans, all I personally ask for is some sort of reasoned argument to support that view.
The problem is, though, that many of the critics are making knee jerk reactions to events on the pitch, or non events off it, and failing to think things through logically. Hence a number of myths are born. These myths are created then repeated until they become accepted as truisms for some Newcastle United fans.
One to figure prominently at the moment, is the notion that only Newcastle United are being constricted by PSR and then its successor SCR (Squad Cost Ratio). The evidence offered being Villa’s purchase of Tammy Abraham. Villa have a plan. Villa are being decisive (therefore we are not). Villa can spend money. So why can’t we?
The simple fact is that Villa do have to be mindful of PSR. Yes, they have signed Tammy Abraham, but why? Because they sold Donyell Malen. They received a £2 million loan fee and Roma have a £25 million obligation to buy. Abraham is reportedly costing £18 million.
So, first of all, Villa had to buy someone as they had lost their only first team back-up for Ollie Watkins. I’m sure that wasn’t planned for before the season started. Secondly, they appear to be coming out with a £9 million profit from the two deals so they are also hardly busting out of the PSR straightjacket.
Another myth which I have seen repeated numerous times is that Eddie Howe only wants Premier League ready and proven players. He won’t look to Europe for “bargains”…
Leaving aside the whole debate around whether European bargains really exist, simple facts blow this myth right out of the water.
Look at our current squad.
Bruno, Botman, Tonali, Thiaw and Woltemade (20% of our first team squad) came to us from European clubs. You could add Yakuba Minteh as well as the Rat, “formerly known as Isak”, to that list. Also, who was Eddie’s first and probably principal target last summer? Hugo Ekitike, a Frenchman playing in Germany. So, the facts clearly show that Eddie does look to buy from the European market. But can he strike a bargain?
Bruno (£41m), Botman (£35m), Isak (£63m), Minteh (£7m), Woltemade (£65m plus £4m potential future add-ons), Tonali (£55m) and Thiaw (£34m).
Two of those seven have since been sold and generated around £160m in transfer revenue, Isak and Minteh making Newcastle United a profit of £90m between them.
I know, this is simplistic and sell-on clauses and agents’ fees have to be taken into consideration. However, it is quite apparent that Eddie Howe has generally conducted good business.
It isn’t even arguable, as far as I’m concerned, that not only does Eddie Howe shop around on the continent but he is also very successful at sniffing out a bargain!
My third example when it comes to some Newcastle United fans seeing only doom and gloom. is the claim that we’re no good at set-pieces. That the club has wasted money on a new set-piece coach and he’s robbing a living. Again, the facts just don’t stack up. Newcastle United are in the top half dozen Premier League clubs in terms of set-piece goals this season.
When I pointed this out to someone a few days ago I was informed that, “They’re not clean chances being created, though, they’re more like rugby scrums.” Have you seen the poster boys of set-piece routines, Arsenal, lately mate?
The final myth amongst certain Newcastle United fans, is a recurring one and – in my opinion – the most ridiculous. Which is that the Saudi Arabia PIF have lost interest in the project and are looking to “pull the plug’ and sell us in order to buy a “sexier” proposition like Man Utd or Spurs.
Since Newcastle United was bought from Mike Ashley for a total of £305 million, the Saudi Arabia PIF and Reuben family have regularly injected cash into the club to help pay day to day running costs and finance transfer fees. The total to date, as confirmed by documents filed at Companies House, is over half a billion, on top of the original purchase price.
With the Saudi Arabia PIF now owning 85% and the Reuben family 15%, any additional funds that go in, such as the £151.5m that has been invested into the club these last six months, the PIF put in 85% of those amounts and the Reubens 15%, as per their shareholdings.
You can add to that sum the very healthy £200 million budget which has been reportedly approved for the development of a new training complex, which seems set to be developed on the Woolsington Hall estate.
Surely, even a fabulously wealthy organisation like the Saudi Arabia PIF isn’t making these kind of investments on a whim.
In an interesting article posted by A D on The Mag recently, he suggested that the owners are “stalling” and that it will result in the vultures picking us clean of our brightest talent. Isak has gone to Liverpool and the “talk of the steamy”, as my Glaswegian father used to say, is that Tino will be heading off to Man City and Sandro will be off. So get a new stadium built right now so we can compete with the “big boys.” The ones who gazumped us in the summer and left us picking over 2nd, 3rd or even 4th choice candidates up front.
Unfortunately, massive capital investment projects running into billions of pounds just don’t happen overnight. Everton first planned a new 60,000 seater stadium (in the King’s Dock area) in 2001 but, after several alternative plans fell through for various reasons, settled on Bramley Moore Dock in 2017. It took until July 2021 for work to begin on the ground (If you think that was a long wait, Tottenham started their journey to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2007/8!)
Four years of consultations, planning applications, architectural presentations and finance meetings for Everton followed by 3.5 years of construction, 8 years of planning etc followed by 4 of construction for Spurs. We are probably in that vague and frustrating period at the beginning so patience will be required, unfortunately, as it looks as though the owners are stuck in the same bureaucratic/legalistic minefield that any huge capital project has to pick it’s way through. There’s nothing new to be seen.
So, I would invite anyone who believes I’ve got it wrong and am happy clapping while Rome burns, to stock up on pop tarts and Red Bull, flex their typing fingers and dash off an article to The Mag, to explain how the world really works. Maybe type it slowly, though, because I’m getting a bit hard of thinking these days!