To a large chunk of their fiercest supporters and most die-hard detractors, there’s an inevitability about Newcastle United‘s rise.
Deep pockets and driven ownership tend to trump all, so the theory goes. And to be fair the club’s hierarchy have done little to dampen those great expectations in the months that have passed since a Saudi-funded takeover that shook football.
Take the loquacious Amanda Staveley’s radio interview in the hours that followed the club’s deflating Carabao Cup final loss to Sunday’s opponents Manchester United. “We will win the Carabao Cup,” she said matter-of-factly before adding assurances that the FA Cup, Champions League and Premier League would follow.
But the reality is that even with a super-sized budget and an executive team made up of some of the nimblest operators in the game, Newcastle have their work cut out to muscle into English football’s elite.
They are starting from a long way back, for a start. The ownership has had to build from scratch a football operation that had been hollowed out by Mike Ashley’s short-sighted cost-cutting. One recent appointee reckoned some League One teams had a better backroom operation than the one Newcastle’s new ownership inherited.
Then there’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) which makes it markedly tougher for pretenders to land a glove on Europe’s heavyweights. Intentional or not, it preserves the advantage of clubs with recent Champions League pedigree and has forced Newcastle to rein in their spending in the last couple of transfer windows.
None of this has stopped Newcastle from making great strides this season and for that Eddie Howe has to be a serious contender for manager of the year. But that Carabao Cup defeat was a jarring reminder that even a Manchester United side supposedly in transition was staffed by world class talent. In the bitter aftermath, club insiders acknowledged that Howe’s squad needs upgrading across the board to go toe-to-toe for the biggest prizes.
To bridge the gap they need a big bang moment and unexpectedly, it might come in as little as eight weeks. Champions League qualification, which would be properly transformative for the Newcastle project, is a realistic target and it is a chance that they can ill afford to go begging.
Opportunity might not knock like this again soon for Newcastle. Don’t get it twisted, they’ve done their bit by making smart signings, benefiting from superb coaching and impressive alignment off-the-field. But even the staunchest Magpie wouldn’t have anticipated so many established rivals would collapse simultaneously so soon.
Liverpool’s nosedive was a possibility given the sheer amount of effort expended chasing the quadruple last season. Chelsea’s new ownership was always an unknown and you can never discount the possibility of Antonio Conte prodding self destruct button at the first sign of turbulence. But all Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham hitting the buffers together? It offers Newcastle a path to the top four that they wouldn’t have dreamed of in the close season.
The hard work starts on Sunday. Having emerged from a barren spell that club insiders are putting down to the distraction of the Carabao Cup run, they look refreshed and reinvigorated after back-to-back wins against Wolves and Nottingham Forest. Manchester United represent a litmus test of their renewed form but with Alexander Isak irresisitible and others emerging around him, there is plenty of reason to believe.
It kicks off a run of games on Tyneside that will do much to decide their fate. With games in hand they control their own destiny and Tottenham, Arsenal and Brighton are all to come at St James’ Park. It will be the place to be during the run-in.
At the moment the club’s recruitment team are working on three summer transfer lists: one in the scenario they miss out on Europe altogether, another for Europa or Conference League football and a final one for the Champions League. It will open doors, both financially and to some of the players they thought they were three, four or even five years away from getting.
“Once we get there, we won’t go back,” a senior source told i earlier this year about Newcastle’s Champions League dream.
Among the dizzying talk the possibility of a Premier League investigtion into their majority owners was mentioned in Whitehall this week. Richard Masters chose his words carefully when asked if the league had noted a Public Investment Fund submission in the States which might be perceived as contradicting assurances given that there would be no Saudi state involvement in the running of the club.
The owners, it should be reported, do not seem unduly concerned or ruffled. A source told i that they believed “nothing had changed”. What’s more, they added, the club’s new custodians had been model owners since taking over, complying with FFP rules while bringing new jobs and new hope to a city firmly behind them.
Whether you bristle at that or not, this is a club determined not to take a backward step.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/m4NMrz9
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