The large portable cabin across the road from St James’ Park which has acted as the club’s temporary club shop this summer is a pretty good metaphor for Newcastle United right now.
It has done the job over the close season as the Magpies racked up record sales of their new Adidas kits.
But for a Premier League club whose future success on the field is so inextricably tied to their plan to turbocharge commercial revenue, being housed in such a poky space represents something of a missed opportunity.
A new megastore inside the stadium – the result of months of consumer research and viewed by insiders as the culmination of a “total overhaul” of their retail operation – is slated to open in mid-October. Those who have had a sneak peak believe that it will have the “wow factor” fans are after.
Modelled on Borussia Dortmund’s cavernous yellow and black megastore, it has been designed to be “best in class”. From create-your-own-shirt stations to social media backdrops for younger fans, part of the idea is to make it feel like a destination rather than just a shop.
But behind the shiny racks stacked with black and white merchandise, there is a bigger plan at play here.
Newcastle know that every pound spent in the club shop will help ease the sort of Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) concerns that have hampered their ambitions in 2024.
“As much as we might want there to be, there is no alternative to sustainable, long-term growth given the regulations,” a source told i.
That message extends to the “imminent” decision on Manchester City’s challenge of the Premier League’s associated party transaction rules (APT), which is awaited as keenly on Tyneside as it is in the north-west.
The verdict of a three-person independent panel is expected this week, although whether it will be made public at the same time is not entirely clear.
“In the Premier League’s disciplinary rules there’s a requirement to publish a decision and also a process for an appeal but this is arbitration and the rules are different,” explains Stefan Borson, corporate lawyer and former financial adviser to City.
For the sake of transparency, surely, it would make sense to let fans know what happened.
Borson has always maintained that the case will be “very difficult” for City to win and is sceptical of whispers within the game that they have had some wins in the two-week tribunal hearing.
“I think it would be a surprise if City won in any meaningful way – these sort of cases are difficult to win,” he said.
“For the Premier League’s rules to have been judged to breach competition laws would be quite a big deal.
“There are a lot of unknowns still and it’s difficult to predict the result because it’s a three-person panel. And apart from the leak in The Times, we don’t really know what City are actually asking for.”
That appears to be Newcastle’s position too, at least publicly.
When asked by i last month whether the verdict had the potential to significantly alter their plans to attract sponsors, chief commercial officer Peter Silverstone suggested not.
“It’s very clear what the rules are,” he said, offering the straightest of bats.
“We know what the rules are and we work around them. Every club has to do the same. It’s the same for Newcastle as they are for the 19 other Premier League clubs.”
Not that club officials won’t be studying the fine print of the decision very, very carefully.
Anything that frees up restrictions on the club’s commercial options will be welcomed, especially with steep revenue targets to meet in a season where there is not the certainty of Champions League football income.
And the possibility of bringing in more Saudi Arabia companies as partners will certainly be easier if elements of the rules introduced in February are loosened.
A “total win” for City – as unlikely as Borson believes that is – would be a game-changer if they can argue that all fair market restrictions are anti-competitive.
As football finance expert Dr Rob Wilson points out, it would give Newcastle the potential for huge extra financial muscle.
“It would take [Newcastle] from one of the lowest spenders in the summer transfer window to one of the highest in the space of the season,” he says.
“If City win this APT case, and it allows APTs in the Premier League, then what we’ll see is some massive sponsorship deals signed almost immediately by Newcastle to boost their transfer budget for next summer.
“It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if they spend over £300m on pure player transfers.”
Borson, however, thinks a tweaking of the rules rather than ripping them up is the most likely outcome.
“I do wonder how much difference it is going to make,” he says.
“I’m not sure it will be monumental, maybe they will manage to make the argument certain rules or aspects are unlawful. Perhaps some of the latest amendments made in February went too far and those rules need to be deleted and future rules need to be more reasonable.
“But the idea that this case will lead to an abandonment of all types of APT or related party restrictions, I just don’t buy it.”
That is why Newcastle are probably wise to bank on shops instead of inflated sponsorships, for the time being at least.
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