Newcastle United are currently fourth in the Premier League with three points and with a game in hand above nearest rivals Tottenham Hotspur. This time last year they were fourteenth, halfway through last season, they were second bottom.
If Newcastle keep their Champions League place, it would be the greatest achievement of the year, even if Arsenal win their first league title since 2004.
Of course, there is one obvious reason why Newcastle are doing so well. On October 7th, 2021, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund completed their long-awaited takeover of the club, ending 14 diabolical years under Mike Ashley. This reportedly made the club, at the time second bottom in the Premier League, the richest in the world.
It was expected that Newcastle would spend big on large names and shoot up the Premier League with a budget that no one else, not even Manchester City, could compete with. If that was the case, then their current position would not be a surprise.
However, Newcastle have not been rash, as they were expected to be. In fact, they were smart, and only spent money when they were sure that the player fitted their vision. The first thing they did just one week after the takeover, was sack manager Steve Bruce, who was clearly not capable of taking where the Saudis wanted. In came Eddie Howe, who revolutionised a squad that looked set for relegation.
It wasn’t just the manager that changed though. Their first signing, Kieran Trippier, has been one of the best players in the Premier League this season. Dan Burn, bought for €15.00m is currently one of the best left-backs in the league. That was in January 2022, and more players came in in the summer of that year. Sven Botman and Nick Pope have both been seen as smart deals, resulting in the second-best defence in the league.
Yes, money has certainly been spent, money that Mike Ashley wouldn’t have brought, but it was spent remarkably wisely.
The team now is remarkably different to what was there before the takeover. They have gone from a dysfunctional rabble to a coherent group that will be playing in Europe next season. The change came almost straight away, finishing eleventh last season, ending in incredible form. That form has continued to where they are now.
Yet it isn’t just Newcastle who have performed a lot better than expected this season. Aston Villa’s rise has been a lot more recent than Newcastle’s, but a very impressive one nonetheless. Despite the quality of the roster they had available, the Villains struggled under Steven Gerrard. When Unai Emery (who was initially courted by Newcastle) replaced Gerrard in October of last year, the club radically improved, and are now occupying sixth place.
Similar, has been the rise of Brighton. Graham Potter’s September departure forced a change of manager, so the club brought in little-known Italian Roberto De Zerbi. His modern style of football has brought the Seagulls – typically low achievers – up to seventh.
A final, and arguably the greatest overachiever, has been Arsenal. The Gunners have steadily improved under Spaniard Mikel Arteta to first in the league. That being said, I think Newcastle’s achievement would be more deserving of any award due to the sheer transformation from stragglers to fighters that has taken place under Howe.
Joshua Makepeace
Roar Rookie
Sorry for not replying sooner to you, completely forgot. I was not saying money = quality performance, rather simply agreeing with you that the PL has far more financial might than any other league. Yesterday (Sunday) proved that the Premier League is the most entertaining in the world, Newcastle smashing Spurs 6-1 and West Ham beating relegation rivals Bournemouth 4-0. Not only is the most entertaining, it's also the most competitive, with basically no mid table, just a European race, and a relegation battle. You say Spanish clubs have dominated the UEL in the past 10 years, but in reality that was one club, Sevilla, and then 1 win from Atletico Madrid. Whilst Spanish clubs might do better than English clubs, England simply has more teams with a chance of doing well internationally.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Money isn’t quality performance is. The transfer money argument with Chelsea spending it makes no sense. The other point I would make is tax, Spain have been hamstrung by their tax system. If it was just Barcelona and Real Madrid winning most of the champions league in the last 10 years, you could argue England has more top clubs. Then that should be reflected in the Europa league, except again you have Spain dominating that in the last 10 years. Performance wise it has to be La Liga 1 EPL 2 Bundesliga 3.
Joshua Makepeace
Roar Rookie
Ok, I should've specified that I was only talking about the Prem. However I do believe the PL is the best league in the world (though not to the level of the NBA or MLB for their sports). As you stated, no other league can boast the financial power of the PL. In the last January transfer window, PL clubs spent £815m, compared to a combined £50m for Serie A and the Bundesliga. Chelsea alone spent more than the other so called 'top 4' leagues (Serie A, Bundesliga, La Liga, and Ligue 1) combined. It's the most watched league in the world, as you also said, but is has more top clubs than any other league. Last year, there was an English club in the UCL final, 2 years ago there were 2. Of course, there are other leagues with quality, but none to the level of the Premier League.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
I dont see how being 20 points behind the top of the table is the achievement of the season when you add in they dont have the disadvantage of European football. When you talk about the achievement of the season can you at least specify thats it the achievement of the season specifically in the EPL as well. Lets not pretend the EPL is the pinnacle of world football, its certainly nowhere near the NBA of world football, its not even the MLB of world football. FInancially it may have the most money of all leagues , and it has the biggest following worldwide, but that doesn't translate to actual performance as demonstrated in Europe. The first sign of a numpty in football is to talk about the EPL as the worlds major league. In football the reality is there is no major league . Lets talk about Al Nassr as one of the world top clubs as their wage bill is near the top 10 in football and greater than any team in any other sport. When you take into account the amount post tax, the it could be anywhere in the top couple if not the top.
Joshua Makepeace
Roar Rookie
If Villa did get Championships League that would be incredible. Newcastle were terrible in that game, especially the first half.
Midfield General
Roar Rookie
… and Villa thumped Newcastle last weekend. So watch this space.