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1The 10 challenges facing anyone who buys Newcastle United
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4As George Caulkin explained on The Athletic yesterday, a consortium including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), financier Amanda Staveley and the Reuben brothers, David and Simon, are hoping to negotiate a £300 million-plus deal with Mike Ashley to buy Newcastle United.
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6The supporters have been here and been disappointed before, so quite understandably cynicism will remain the default setting until any agreement is concluded.
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8Many outsiders, meanwhile, struggle to understand why Newcastle fans are so desperate for Ashley to depart. They cannot entirely comprehend that those supporters have seen what the club can — and arguably should — be, which is something far removed from what it is right now.
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10If ever there was a club ripe for a takeover it is Newcastle, who have been defined by their potential for too long. To bring about a significant moment of change on and off the pitch.
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12In order for them to do so, The Athletic has identified 10 key issues any fresh custodians must look to address…
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141. Outline a clear vision for the future
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16Among Ashley’s myriad failings at Newcastle, perhaps the most fundamental of all has been his neglect of an overarching vision.
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18There has been a blueprint for signing players aged 24 and under with potential sell-on value, a desire to make the club self-sufficient and a stated aim to stay in the Premier League. But those do not excite supporters; it has become a cold club, lacking meaning, direction and ambition, and which at one stage even downplayed the significance of cup competitions.
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20Yet Ashley has also veered wildly with his message. In May 2015, after Newcastle avoided relegation on the final day of the season, he insisted he would only sell once he had “won something” but “not at any price”. Champions League qualification or a trophy would count, he insisted. Within 12 months, Newcastle had been relegated to the Championship for the second time on his watch.
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22Then, after years of frugality, including when only Vurnon Anita arrived in the summer after a season where Newcastle finished fifth, they spent heavily on young, attacking reinforcements in 2019. Miguel Almiron, Allan Saint-Maximin and Joelinton cost a combined £80 million — with the £40 million fee paid for the latter more than double the previous club record — yet the fundamental issue, a lack of goals, has never been overcome.
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24Immediately following any takeover, the supporters would be dreaming of a brighter future — and it is essential that new owners capitalise on that by presenting their ideas for how Newcastle can grow. They are a club that needs a renewed purpose, and fresh custodians could provide that.
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26One of the reasons why Rafa Benitez was so universally respected on Tyneside was because of his stated desire for constant progress. If a new regime could crystallise similar ideals, it would give the club much-needed momentum.
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28The current coronavirus pandemic will offer significant challenges. Ashley’s Newcastle have often been accused of penny-pinching and the decision to furlough all non-playing staff before the first team have agreed to a wage decrease or deferral feels uncomfortable.
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30New owners would be tasked with helping Newcastle through what could prove to be an existential crisis for many sporting institutions but it would also give them an opportunity to accentuate the club’s position as a vital community asset.
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322. Re-establish the deep bond with supporters
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34Another of Ashley’s gravest mistakes has been his unenviable capacity to alienate Newcastle fans.
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36A series of ludicrous decisions saw an initial honeymoon period turn to vitriol.
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38The treatment of Alan Shearer and Kevin Keegan, the attempt to rename St James’ Park, allowing pay-day lender Wonga to sponsor the shirt, the loss of a disability-discrimination case against Jonas Gutierrez, the winger who had been diagnosed with cancer, not to mention two relegations inside seven years, are just the beginning of a roll-call of self-inflicted wounds that frayed at the bond with supporters.
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40Initially, new owners would be guaranteed popularity simply because they are not Ashley. But their immediate acceptance should not be taken for granted.
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42Relationships with disaffected fans must be rebuilt and those who have become disillusioned with their club must have their faith in Newcastle United restored.
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44Establishing close links to the Newcastle United Supporters Trust (NUST), which has almost 10,000 members, feels essential, too.
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46Boycotts and protests — led by groups including #IfRafaGoesWeGo, Ashleyout.com, the Magpie Group and Toon For Change — forced Newcastle to offer 10,000 free half-season tickets in December, meaning some new supporters have potentially been introduced to the club.
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48Yet, while some of the thousands of fans who stayed away under Ashley would return immediately, others may need to be convinced that the club itself has changed, rather than just the ownership.
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50Goodwill from supporters who were wearied by Ashley’s regime would be guaranteed in the short term but restoring that relationship to previous levels would be a fragile process that will take patience, determination and consideration.
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523. Reshape a committed, but limited and unbalanced, squad
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54When the summer window will open and how long it will operate for remains uncertain given the coronavirus pandemic but how new owners would approach the transfer market would be chief among supporter intrigue.
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56Steve Bruce’s current squad — full of committed characters yet short on genuine quality — are on course to secure safety for the third season in succession but survival should no longer be the goal. One of the principle reasons why Benitez left last summer was because he wanted genuine progress, rather than a yearly objective of finishing 17th or above.
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58The Athletic understands that, should this takeover be concluded, transfer funds would be made available over a succession of windows and that strengthening the squad would be a priority.
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60During football’s shutdown, head coach Bruce has been liaising remotely with managing director Lee Charnley and head of recruitment Steve Nickson. Bruce has stressed the need for a box-to-box midfielder, a winger and a forward, and in the coming weeks they plan to whittle down their list of targets, with significant groundwork already conducted on potential options at those positions.
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62While bolstering those departments would likely remain the priority regardless, the identities of targets may become more ambitious if new owners could offer an increased budget — and further areas of the team could be augmented if greater funds became available.
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64However, Financial Fair Play regulations would need to be considered. In the short term, Newcastle would have no problem complying with the Premier League’s rules even if they were to spend lavishly because, in their latest accounts for 2017-18, they made an operating profit of £17.6 million.
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66But, in the long run, sustained significant spending on transfer fees and wages could alter the landscape, with top-flight clubs unable to incur cumulative losses of more than £105 million over three rolling seasons.
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68Any big-money signings made this summer, therefore, could impact upon how much Newcastle would have to spend during future windows to ensure they satisfy the restrictions (although there have been suggestions that rules may be temporarily relaxed in the post-coronavirus world).
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704. Stick or twist with the manager?
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72When Ashley bought Newcastle in 2007, he inherited Sam Allardyce, who had just been recruited by previous chairman Freddy Shepherd.
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74Ashley had not made the appointment and, having just ploughed £250 million into purchasing the club and covering its debts, within six months he decided to bring in his own manager.
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76That it was Keegan — a stubborn manager who wanted to do things his way, rather than as part of the continental-style structure the billionaire attempted to introduce — who Ashley would anoint was surprising. While initially viewed as a masterstroke, given the nostalgia Keegan’s return brought, it turned out to be a public-relations disaster when the club legend resigned and then won a constructive-dismissal case in which it was proven that Newcastle “repeatedly and intentionally misled the press, public and fans”.
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78Almost 13 years on, new owners would face a similar dilemma to Ashley: stick with the current head coach or bring in someone they have hand-picked.
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80Much has changed in the 28 months since Staveley first submitted three bids to Ashley, all of which were dependent on Benitez remaining as manager. The Spaniard is now working in China — where it is believed it would cost in excess of £20 million to extricate The Athletic columnist from his contract at the Dalian Professional club — and does not appear attainable in the short term. There was an admiration for coaches such as now-Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta last summer, too, though negotiations to buy Newcastle never reached a stage where such an appointment became realistic.
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82Instead, Bruce, who was a controversial successor to Benitez, has performed reasonable well results-wise so far, guiding Newcastle to the FA Cup quarter-finals and 13th place in the league. Although he is yet to be warmly accepted by the majority of Newcastle fans — his name has rarely been chanted on the terraces — neither home nor away supporters have actively turned against their fellow Geordie.
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84Nobody yet knows when, or indeed if, the 2019-20 season will restart. And, with a pause in the footballing calendar, there would be no need to rush into making a change.
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86It therefore seems likely Bruce would remain in situ at the very least for now, giving new owners time to assess his performance first hand — and to see whether he can successfully evolve the style of play — before deciding which direction they may look to head.
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88With Newcastle almost free of the threat of relegation with nine games to go, undue haste would be unnecessary.
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905. Make Newcastle “the club of the north”
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92Strangely, even despite the leanness of the Ashley years, Newcastle find themselves as the solitary top-flight club within a 100-mile radius, which highlights the sporting depression which has gripped the area.
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94The mid-table mediocrity in which they are situated represents (relative) relief for a region that has been left behind in footballing terms, mirroring the economic austerity of everyday life that has afflicted so many in North-East England.
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96This scarcity of success in the north presents Newcastle with a real opportunity. Even if Leeds United, some 90 miles south, do finally return to the Premier League next season, they would be the only such club within 100 miles.
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98Given that the likes of Shearer, Chris Waddle, Paul Gascoigne, Peter Beardsley, Michael Carrick and Andy Carroll were born on Tyneside, Newcastle should look to nurture local talent, as they are currently doing with the Longstaff brothers, Sean and Matty (notwithstanding their respective contract situations, which would also need resolving swiftly). Further afield, Sunderland-born Jordan Henderson is a Champions League-winning captain and Washington’s Jordan Pickford is the current England No 1, while the Middlesbrough manager Jonathan Woodgate was born in Nunthorpe and went on to represent Real Madrid.
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100Youngsters from Cumbria, the Borders, Northumberland, Wearside, County Durham, Teesside and Tyneside should be targeted and, in time, Newcastle could become the region’s premier academy. “We don’t just want players for the first team; we want to produce someone who’s going to go on, lift the Champions League and captain England. That’s our long-term vision,” head of academy coaching Ben Dawson told The Athletic recently.
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102Beyond that, identity is key. North-Easterners are fiercely proud of their heritage and they welcome those who embrace their history, culture and idiosyncrasies.
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104Then-chairman Sir John Hall and his manager Keegan cultivated that during the 1990s, before Shepherd and Sir Bobby Robson did likewise at the turn of the millennium, and on both occasions Newcastle United flourished.
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106Those figures understood the significance of football to the city and wider region; and they recognised that, harnessed correctly, it can be an irresistible force. Ashley, however, has never identified with supporters in the same way.
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108New owners would therefore be wise to position Newcastle as “the club of the north”.
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1106. Upgrade infrastructure — and the academy
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112When Benitez departed Newcastle he lamented that, rather than upgrading the training ground as promised, the Ashley regime merely “painted the walls”.
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114This was an exaggeration but the point remained that, despite former director of football Joe Kinnear — yes, Ashley really did appoint him twice — first revealing plans for a state-of-the-art facility in 2013, Newcastle are yet to start construction. Incremental upgrades have taken place but the training facilities simply do not compare to those of many other Premier League sides, with Leicester City and Bournemouth the latest to announce substantial improvements.
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116Charnley’s comments in April 2019 that “no player has turned around and said they will not sign because of the training ground” may have been accurate, but it also highlighted the lack of ambition. If Newcastle want to compete with the very best then they need the facilities to rival them; and, while the current training ground may not negatively affect performance, it does not aid it as it should, either.
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118Identifying how best to upgrade the training ground and then committing to doing so should be a primary concern for new owners.
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120Kinnear’s plans included a swimming pool, a hydrotherapy unit and a fitness pool, which Newcastle claimed would see the club “occupy one of the finest training facilities in Europe”. Seven years on, they still have do not have those permanent facilities on site.
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122So too should upgrading the club’s academy. Newcastle did make changes to the structure of the academy last summer but their implementation has been delayed for a variety of reasons so the benefits have yet to be felt.
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124As far as the club’s infrastructure goes, St James’ Park could also do with some TLC in parts, with additional funds set aside to refurbish the ground.
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126Parts of the stadium, including around the Sir Bobby Robson statue at the Gallowgate End, have recently been renovated but other areas look tired. Concourses and corporate areas in particular appear outdated when compared to those at the Big Six clubs.
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128In the longer term, should season-ticket sales recover significantly, identifying how St James’ Park could potentially be extended beyond its 52,000 capacity — now that the lease on the Strawberry Place land has been sold on — should also be a consideration.
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130“I’m a passionate believer in investment in the North-East because I know it’s tough,” Staveley previously said.
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132The Reuben brothers — who already own Newcastle Racecourse — also have vast development experience and have a Newcastle city-centre investment portfolio, including in a six-acre plot they are currently regenerating.
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134Such know-how would prove crucial in modernising Newcastle’s ageing infrastructure if a takeover is to happen.
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1367. Establish an executive structure
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138Newcastle currently possess a structure that is unique in the top flight — and not in a positive sense.
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140MD Charnley is their only “director” registered on the Premier League’s website and is almost solely responsible for the day-to-day running of the club. Ashley resigned from the board in 2015, purportedly to step back from decision-making, while key aide Justin Barnes is not officially employed by the club. No other Premier League club has such a modest boardroom.
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142This lack of an executive-level team presents both an opportunity and a challenge to the new owners; it ensures the club is ripe for restructuring although it also means a fresh framework needs to be put in place.
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144New owners would likely keep Charnley, at the very least for the interim, to provide continuity, though it is understood that a chief executive would be sought should this deal happen.
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146Staveley, Jamie Reuben — son of David Reuben and currently on the board at Queens Park Rangers, a position he would need to resign from — and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of PIF, are all believed to have been named among prospective directors in the information given over to the Premier League. Though what respective positions they would assume is unclear.
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148A director of football, a technical director and an academy director are just three roles which could potentially be established, while other portfolios overseeing departments such as finance, commercial and business could be created. A decision would also have to be made on whether a new chief scout would be brought in, or if a head of recruitment — currently Nickson — would suffice.
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150Whether Bruce would be designated the title of “head coach” or “manager” would also indicate the degree of power he would be afforded within the set-up.
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1528. Reconnect with iconic figures
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154Keegan felt forced to resign, while Shearer never heard back from Ashley after presenting a plan to bring Newcastle back from the Championship in 2009. Both have been distanced from St James’ Park since.
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156The statue of Shearer on Barrack Road even lies outside the confines of the stadium — and “Shearer’s Bar” at St James’ Park was unceremoniously renamed the “Nine Bar” in 2013 — while there is no such monument to Keegan’s achievements.
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158Identity and history matter at Newcastle. Staveley seems to recognise this. She told The Times in 2018 that, “Newcastle has a proper history and a real magic; it’s a really special place with its own identity.”
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160Ashley showed borderline contempt towards two of the most-important figures to ever step foot inside St James’ Park and that mutilated any hope of redemption for the businessman with some fans.
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162It may seem a simple gesture but, if the new owners reached out to the likes of Shearer and Keegan and invited them back, perhaps in official ambassadorial roles, the effect would be pronounced.
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164Neither should have been forced into self-imposed exile in the first place but bringing about the return of two of Newcastle’s prodigal sons would be momentous.
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1669. Maximise commercial opportunities
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168During Ashley’s reign as owner, Newcastle’s commercial revenue has barely increased.
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170In their most-recent accounts, the club recorded £26.7 million in revenues from sponsorship deals and the like, a staggering £80 million behind Tottenham Hotspur, with whom they were regarded as commercial equals as recently as 2007.
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172This summer, both Newcastle’s £6.5 million-a-year kit deal with Puma and headline-sponsorship agreement with online gaming company Fun88, which is believed to be worth about £8 million a season, come to an end. However, it is understood discussions have been held with Puma about a short-term extension and with prospective shirt sponsors, too. Whether agreements have already been struck, or if new owners could negotiate fresh deals of their own, remains to be seen.
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174In addition, the relationship between Sports Direct and the club needs to be clarified. Not only have advertising hoardings promoting Ashley’s company defaced St James’ Park for too long but the club shop is also stocked by the firm. Ending that association instantly would be a welcome move.
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176During Ashley’s tenure, there has been an out-sourcing of contracts, including for catering, which is run by Sodexo, and there is a decision to be made on whether Newcastle could further maximise revenues by bringing those back in house, or if the current model is more cost-effective.
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17810. End the trophy drought
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180Newcastle United have become synonymous with glorious failure.
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182As well as the heartbreak of missing out on the title during the 1990s era of “The Entertainers”, there have also been four domestic cup-final appearances and a UEFA Cup semi-final since the last major trophy was paraded on Tyneside.
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184Last year, Newcastle celebrated — if that is the correct term — the half-century anniversary of their most-recent triumph, the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. You must go all the way back to 1955 for the last domestic trophy, when they lifted the FA Cup for a third time in five seasons.
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186For a club that won four league titles and six FA Cups during the first 63 years of its existence to have failed to claim a domestic trophy in the 65 years since is as remarkable as it is painful.
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188While fans sing about “winning fuck all again” and “still supporting United”, they crave a trophy.
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190Under Ashley at one stage, the club publicly stated that Premier League survival was the “priority” ahead of the knockout competitions and Newcastle never got past the FA Cup fourth round in the first 12 years of his reign.
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192To be fair, Bruce, as a Geordie, recognises this and has stated that he wants to win a cup — and he had taken Newcastle to the last eight of the FA Cup this season before play was suspended.
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194Yet predecessors such as Keegan, Sir Bobby, Graeme Souness, Kenny Dalglish et al thought they would be the manager who would finally end the hoodoo and, while some came agonisingly close, none has yet followed Joe Harvey into the exclusive club of Newcastle’s trophy-winning managers.
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196If a return to European football and infiltrating the so-called Big Six should be a long-term goal for new owners, then attempting to win the League Cup or the FA Cup ought to be an immediate priority.
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198It is high time Newcastle cast off their tag as “the great underachievers”.