Newcastle United CEO David Hopkinson and head coach Eddie Howe
Newcastle United CEO David Hopkinson and head coach Eddie Howe
Newcastle United's season faces another critical period when the players return from the international break. After a disappointing last two games against Barcelona and Sunderland threatened to derail the season, the Magpies are back in action on April 12 at Crystal Palace.
The derby defeat piled more pressure on Eddie Howe, who has seen his United side struggle for consistency this season. Newcastle CEO David Hopkinson admitted all the focus was on the last seven games rather than Howe's long-term future when he met with reporters this week.
Our chief NUFC writer Lee Ryder spoke to Hopkinson and finance chief Simon Capper in the media briefing as United reported record revenues for last season, but there was the bombshell of the sale of the St James' Park leasehold to contend with.
Lee is on hand to answer all questions on Howe, transfers, the run-in and more in our Q&A below. Leave your questions in the comments section or send us your thoughts via this form.
Q: The new training ground sponsor - what does that mean for Newcastle? Will renaming St James’ Park be next?
A: In case anyone hasn't seen the breaking news this morning , you can read it here.This is a groundbreaking development for Newcastle United as far as the post-takeover era is concerned. It means that the club now have fresh income coming in that they didn’t have before, it was always an empty space that could have been making money and wasn’t.
The club have been criticised for not getting a training ground sponsor in the past but fair play to David Hopkinson who has gone in and sealed a deal within six months. It was believed that Peter Silverstone did have offers to get a deal done but felt they did not reflect full value for the club.
But there is now a source of income flowing through and that can only be a good thing as far as SCR is concerned. Newcastle can’t afford to stand still commercially.
Hopkinson came in as a guy who said he was about doing deals and his “more to come” message has to be deemed as an exciting one for the club. Where this leaves the new training ground is another question.
“As far as renaming St James’ Park, I’d say that the door is now open for that prospect. Fans may not complain if it is the difference between signing a quality player or two though.
“This would be unlike Sports Direct Arena when Mike Ashley wanted his cake and wanted to eat it. If the platform is used sensibly let’s say: Saudia Airlines @ St James’ Park then I don’t know if Newcastle are in a position to turn down those big bucks, especially if they want to be No 1.
Hello and welcome to our Newcastle United Q&A. It's never dull at St James' Park and this week has been no different, despite the players being on international duty and no domestic games.
Send us your questions and I'll try and answer as many as possible. Let's dive in.