Luke Edwards is not too bad is he? *tin hat on*
He is prepared to go against the tide every so often as far as the mags are concerned.
His Telegraph article is the first time I've seen a journalist with North East ties break ranks and highlight the fact that the Saudis have achieved very little since the takeover:
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Perhaps the most ludicrous thing is that beyond Premier League survival Newcastle haven't really received any of the benefits of being owned by PIF yet. They are the richest club in the world in nickname only. They are not behaving like it.
Only this week, manager Eddie Howe, following similar off the record briefings by members of the club’s board, warned
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. Words like prudence have been bandied around.
They are talking about, as they did under the previous owner, signing young players who they can get more cheaply and develop with resale value. That does not sound like a club that will be competing for all the game’s biggest honours within the next five years, as co-owner Amanda Staveley and her husband Mehrdad Ghoudoussi have repeatedly claimed in interviews.
Newcastle have not announced
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, which means their income streams are currently at the same level as they were under former owner Mike Ashley.
PIF have pumped significant money in, around £100 million since October, but they have not shown any willingness - yet - to sign the sort of generous sponsorship packages that have turned Manchester City - owned by the ruling family in Abu Dhabi - into one of the world’s richest and most powerful football clubs.
So far all they have got to show for effectively being owned by the Saudi state is £93m in the January transfer window, £25m of which was spent on the 30-year-old Chris Wood from Burnley.
If you were being flippant, it has not even been very good or effective sportswashing so far. Newcastle’s main success under their new owners, to date, has been avoiding relegation. The glory of the Saudi state currently sit 14th in the Premier League, two places below where they finished last season.
If Saudi Arabia wants to bask in the reflective success of Newcastle United, they are going to have to do rather more than this.
Newcastle are a long way off challenging for any sort of silverware in their current guise. They are a mid-table Premier League side, who will be aiming for a top-10 finish next season.
That is all very sensible. Much of what Newcastle have done since October has been exactly that and Howe - who will now be asked lots of uncomfortable questions about the Saudi regime because of this new kit - .
The engagement with fans, investing in the local community with time, resources and enthusiasm. All the talk of ambition, upgrading the training ground and eventually building a new one, these have all been positive things.
But where is all the Saudi money that was hinted at when fans were celebrating the takeover? Where are the new sponsorship deals? Why is Howe operating with such a relatively small transfer budget this summer?
Maybe the fact this is only a change in kit colours is the problem. Newcastle are being dressed up to look like the Saudi national team but the might of the Saudi state has not been used, at least not yet, to make them resemble a successful football team.
I’ve seen quite a bit but can’t find nowt now
