4 years. 48 months. 1460 days. 35,040 hours. It’s a long time to wait to get what you want but finally its happened with the consortium led by Amanda Staveley and back by the PIF taking control of Newcastle United Football Club. The deal worth £305m is not without its controversies, much of which is aligned to PIF’s involvement but for the Newcastle fans who have spent the last 13 years being ignored and abused by their clubs former owner Mike Ashley, it matters not. Finally their club is free again and can now hopefully live up to its potential. Staveley and co will undoubtedly be aware of the enormous task that sits in front of them. A lot needs to change and quickly but where to start? Likely the first point of call will be with the manager.
There has been a lot of talk about what will happen with the manager situation but there are very few who actually think Steve Bruce should or will remain in charge. His £8m payoff has been widely touted as being the first piece of real business by the new owners and its a move that will please the fans who have been bewildered by how Bruce has remained in charge for this long. To be fair to Bruce, who is 1 game shy of making the 1,000 games as a manager, it’s not totally been his fault with a lack of funds and mounting injuries largely to blame. But he hasn’t helped himself with his inability to use what he has and get the best out of them resulting in only 3 points from Newcastles first seven games of the season. Adding in to this, his close ties to outgoing owner Mike Ashley means he has to go. But who will replace him?
The job itself is an interesting one especially the opportunity to build something almost from scratch and wealthy backers willing to do that. However it’s also a long term project that will need patience and a few transfer windows to rebuild a squad that is threadbare at present. Antonio Conte and Zinedane Zidane are two high profile names linked with the job with the former slightly more interesting given his experience in the league after he won the title in his time at Chelsea. Both are currently out of work and are title winning managers but would this challenge present an opportunity for them to test themselves or would it be seen as too much of a risk to their reputations. After all, money doesn’t necessarily guarantee success at least not in the short term. Perhaps which might be enough to deter them. The other option is to look more short term and find a manager who can stabilize the club, assist in creating a more balance squad and bring belief back to the fans and the players that Newcastle can once again compete.
Top of mind is Brendan Rodgers who has done just that at Leicester City. The former Liverpool and Celtic boss is tactically sound and capable of building squad needed to perform. Having come close to winning the league with Liverpool and with Leicester (to a degree), would he view the opportunity at Newcastle as a way to eventually go one step further or will he see it for what it is – a risk. After all, success is defined differently by everyone so his idea of success might not align with the new owners, even if they are saying outwardly to the fans that this will be a long term project. What, if after two seasons in charge, Rodgers has Newcastle comfortably in the top 8 and had a few good runs in the cups. Will that be viewed as a success or will he be dismissed in favour of a bigger name manager. There is however one manager who the new owners will give a longer rope to and that is former Newcastle boss and now Everton manager Rafa Benetiz. The Spaniard is viewed favourably by the consortium having been top of their wish list for manager over a year ago had the takeover gone through then. He would likely be afforded more than just a season and a half especially if his vision aligned with theirs. But would they be able to convince him to leave the project he has only just started at Everton for another bite at the cherry at Newcastle. Time will tell.
Regardless of who is brought in, the rebuilding job needed at a squad level is more than apparent. With the exception of Allan Saint Maximin, Callum Wilson, Joe Willock and club captain Jamal Lascelles, quality across the board is seriously lacking. With no real production line of talent coming through, acquisitions in the short term will be needed to improve Newcastles fortunes. The spending will start in January before a real overhaul in the summer. With 12 of the first team squad over 29 years old, time is not on Newcastle’s side and new faces will need to be added which will not be an easy task. Identifying these targets and working behind the scenes to start the conversations will likely fall to the clubs new Sporting Director which should only be one man – Les Ferdinand. The former Newcastle icon has been Director of Football at QPR for the past 6 years and has done a tremendous job there and is the right man to lead the changes at St James Park. Having played for the club in its heyday he will understand the deep connection the fans have to the club, their expectations and what needs to be done to return Newcastle back to a place where they are competitive. The fans aren’t expecting to see Mbappe or Messi walk through the doors and into the famous black and white jersey but they are looking for players who can make them better and give their all for the club every time they step onto the pitch.
To help this evolution on the pitch, several things need to happen off it. Firstly investment into the training ground and in to St James Park to modernize them both is much needed. Both have suffered over the past 13 years under Mike Ashley’s ownership who barely put any money into either besides enough to give it a lick of paint. Secondly, rebuilding the youth academy from scratch including renewing ties with key youth clubs in the surrounding area to unearth the next generation of stars. Adding former players like Warren Barton, Lee Clark and Rob Lee to the youth setup would help as well as only players from the past can educate the players of the future about what it’s like to play for this club. Thirdly, establishing a strong scouting system and opening up ties internationally will allow the club to expand further, generate new sources of revenue and find hidden gems from across the world which will keep the club competitive in the future. And finally and likely the hardest of them all, making Newcastle United into a global brand. It’s something that Mile Ashley foolishly ignored whilst other clubs in the league and around Europe reaped the benefits. Outside of England, Newcastle has only a small loyal following and certainly not on the same international scale as Chelsea, Arsenal or Manchester United. Building a global brand will take time, it will need the right people leading it from a strategy perspective, it will need to tap into the clubs icon players of the past like Alan Shearer, Kevin Keegan, David Ginola and Jonas Gutierrez who can passionately sell the club to foreign fans and it will need funding, something that shouldn’t be an issue now. Opening up this iconic club to a wider audience only has upside and will elevate the club into a new stratosphere as they look to compete with the biggest clubs in world football both on and off the pitch.
Article by Martin Cowgill
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