What a difference a year makes.
Just 12 months ago Newcastle United were a club who had concluded a January transfer window with significant expenditure but a real danger of being relegated.
Cautious optimism spread through the Geordie faithful who hoped that the new signings could hit the ground running and propel them away from the drop zone.
Now, Newcastle United are sitting third in the Premier League table and have just made their first cup final since 1999, hoping to win their first major trophy since 1969 and first domestic cup since 1955.
As far as remarkable turnarounds go you’d be hard pressed to find one greater than that at St James’ Park. What was once a club run with no ambition and a fan base who turned up out of habit rather than enjoyment has turned into a club rejuvenated and optimism permeates throughout the club.
Significant money has been spent on transfers but to attribute the upturn in fortunes solely on that is doing a major disservice to not only Eddie Howe and his coaching staff but also the owners of the club who have embraced not just the football club but the community as a whole.
Investment has been made in the clubs facilities, canteen, youth academy, staff hirings and the women’s team has finally been brought into the family.
All of this was neglected under the previous regime and the club floundered as a result. Many column inches have been dedicated to calling Newcastle United a sleeping giant and now we are all seeing signs of the giant waking up.
From Wor Flags to the improved social media team all the way through to the accessibility of the owners it was barely conceivable that the club could have such a feel good factor so soon after the takeover.
St James’ Park overlooks the city of Newcastle and it’s no exaggeration to say that the mood of the residents is dictated by the results on the pitch and I can guarantee you Newcastle is one happy toon right now!
With a cup final looming and the possibility of a top four finish which will bring in added revenue and commercial opportunities – which in turn allows greater flexibility with FFP – we may be on the verge of seeing Newcastle United firmly entrenched in the upper echelon of English football.
HWTL!
Grand Panjandrum
Guest
Yes, but it's only due to middle east oil that you are in a position of strength now. It's not good management, or a rebuild of the culture of the admin, or funding a freaking canteen. It's just $$$, and a lot of them. Money wins matches in football. Newcastle won the lottery by having a petro-state leader be a fan of the team. Luck, nothing more. Could have happened to any other once struggling and forgotten club, say, hmmmm, Man City?
chris
Guest
The other aspect of this is how good must Kuol be? For a club with untold funds to pick up an 18yo from Australia, speaks volumes for Kuol. I know he's been loaned out but I suspect he will be brought into the fold pretty quickly.
Marcel
Guest
It's definitely a consideration.... particularly if your agent has Paris or Barcelona at the table. :stoked: Still oop north isnt all like When the Boat Comes In......the are plenty of very elegant country estates well within a footballers budget. And Durham is one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited.
Hutcho
Roar Rookie
Precisely! Transfers have all been meticulously scouted and vetted rather than just throwing money around and hoping it works (I’m looking at you Chelsea and Everton!)
Hutcho
Roar Rookie
Common issue that has often come up but I don’t think it’s as much of a big deal as it maybe once was. I’m from the north east so I am admittedly biased but I would much rather live up north! Plus I don’t think Manchester United, Manchester City or Liverpool have ever had trouble attracting players up north! Plus there’s plenty of time to move to London when your career is over! Your money also goes further up north compared to London!
Garry
Roar Rookie
Man Utd has an excellent youth system which develops many players. However they want trophies so a lot leave for opportunities elsewhere but they usually get game time at Man U first. Some may be foreign born like Garnacho but are still part of the local system. Also the UK is a small country comparatively so how do you define 'local' ? For instance Tom Heaton is from Chester. Greenwood is back in the squad & is from Bradford. Macguire from Sheffield. The obvious player- Rashford - is from Manchester . Otherwise theres about 3 or 4 from the London area.
Elmer Higgins
Guest
Newcastle's problem is going to be that noone will want to move up to the north east of England.
chris
Guest
The "scary" thing is, is that Newcastle haven't really opened the purse strings (yet) on top tier players. Geordies riding high reminds me of the Shearer days : )
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
The current owners must be Chinese they have a chinese club, the Dutch is just a front for everything.
TheSecretScout
Roar Guru
thats 2 seperate issues (international and club football) my views on both, could potentially contradict each other - but we're talking club football specifically here. lets go a working scenario (since i brought up adelaide, as did franko and now yourself) its a south australian club, it should be in the hands of someone south australian - who knows the landscape (the club has had south australian owners before) current owners are dutch, but a deal has once again been revived by the pelligra group (victorian) that now includes a high profile south australian businessman (who will run the day to day) operations also contributing to the 18-20 million to buy the club. - like i said its an australian club, so owners should be in australia. this then leads into 'homegrown players' priority should always be developing players from the area/city/state your club is based (especially the a league which is only 12 teams) - yet the victory (direct rivals) have several players from adelaide in their squad this year, brisbane added 2 more adelaide players this week to go with the few they already have. - the recycling of players is a massive problem in australia theres a reason why a lot of fans in australia are returning or starting for the first time to go to local NPL & state league matches - its because its relateable as for the premier league, you know my views on it i think its the most over rated league in the world -i dont watch it, only hear details from some friends that follow it (like the 106 million chelsea spend on a midfielder - absolute madness) im sure chelsea/man utd/man city/liverpool may have 1 or 2 players born in that area of england that play in the starting line up - but what about the other 20+ players in the squad? this is how you lose the identity and soul of a club. (same with foreign ownership) if you take the broadcast deals and european/south american players out from the league - it will still be the usual kick, run, tackle, win header, work harder then everyone else mentality that english players are known for
Hutcho
Roar Rookie
Hey Texi! Appreciate the comment mate. There’s always going to be negative comments, it’s par for the course unfortunately. I choose to educate rather than insult. Always happy to have an intelligent debate with the haters I grew up in the north east of England so I know exactly how much the club means to the city but supporters of other clubs can’t seem to comprehend it “He’s from Blythhhhh!!”
Franko
Guest
As usual I think the Germans have the answers here. 50+1
Marcel
Guest
Andy....that's a curious position from someone who is on a crusade to turn the Socceroos into the Harlem Globetrotters. Just how far do we take that kind of parochialism ?..... Should Adelaide only be owned by SA money...... should it just be Adelaide money?....City, Hills, Beach side money? The reality is elite club sides haven't been made up of local boys since the 50s...and in the case of the EPL they haven't even been British for the last 20. If people are lamenting the loss of connection to community....well I'm afraid that disappeared last century.
Texi
Roar Rookie
Great to see. Good luck with the naysayers in the comments section, of which I'm sure there will be many. As a Newcastle fan, what exactly are you supposed to do when the club comes into a fortune and picks the right manager? Turn your back on it after sticking with it through the lean years? We've had a generation of neglect at St James' Park; we all knew, with a positive approach and some proper investment, the city and the football club could return to the mid-90s and go on to become a powerhouse. You really have to experience Newcastle when there's a game on, it takes over the whole city. For all those labelling Newcastle as plastic, ye knaa where yee can gan. Ah'm gannin to get me suit measured.
Hutcho
Roar Rookie
Spending lots of money on players doesn’t guarantee success, just look at Everton for proof of that. They have a rich middle eastern owner but they don’t have any semblance of structure in place Ashley brought back Keegan but it quickly unravelled after that. At the time it was exciting that a billionaire was taking over but it went downhill very quickly We have hope again in our football club and our identity back. That’s all we asked for, the success is a welcome byproduct that has happened much sooner than anyone expected
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Where do Chinese owners fit in the scheme of things. TGood or bad. The same question could be asked of Fozzie and being the front of the Chinese Southern Cross bid he had no problems taking the money then.
Franko
Guest
adelaide get a pass because the owners are dutch .... not for much longer.
Franko
Guest
In short, my football club has money now so la la la la not listening to anything else As I tried to point out, its not a shot at Newcastle specifically, this is problem in particular with European football. "Investment in playing squad" - That's just buying any mercenary you like, congrats, its akin to finding a cheat code on the xbox. Mike Ashley didn't have endless sums of money to pump in to the club, maybe he would have it he wasn't up against sheiks and oligarchs? And a few months in to his reign you could have written a similar article here about how he was the saviour, he'd brought back Keegan and so on.
Hutcho
Roar Rookie
Newcastle is an easy target due to the owners and the current success! There are legitimate issues that do need to be discussed but that’s a conversation for much smarter people than me! I know football and stay firmly in that lane!
Hutcho
Roar Rookie
Not sure I quite follow that logic. Newcastle United were owned by an Englishman and it was a colossal failure. The nationality of an owner doesn’t determine the history/success/identity of a club. Even though the clubs are owned by middle eastern backers the everyday running of the club is fine by legitimate football men (in Newcastle’s case Darren Eales and Dan Ashworth). So using the perceived lack of footballing knowledge from owners doesn’t ring true for all clubs owned by “oil money”