In August this year, Manchester City manager Josep Guardiola was asked what his thoughts on Newcastle’s development were. The mentor of the “citizens”, who failed to take away the victory at St. James Park (3: 3) in the third round of the Premier League, said without hesitation: Newcastle are not a project for one or two seasons. It’s something much more long-term. “
British journalists were interested in Guardiola’s opinion as Manchester City itself had already moved up to the top of English football right after the change of ownership and the arrival of wealthy investors from the United Arab Emirates to the management. Since last year Newcastle has been officially owned by the Sovereign Fund of Saudi Arabia, which is directly linked to the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.
Newcastle won their last trophy in history back in 1955, when the FA Cup was presented to the Magpies. Since then, the team that only played at St James’ Park in the mid-1990s have been highly regarded domestically, finishing second in the Premier League twice, and have mostly lived at the bottom in the past two decades. of the elite rankings and twice had to return there through the championship.
The incredible wealth of Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, estimated at a very rough estimate of £ 320 billion, made Newcastle the club with the richest investor in world football after the change of ownership. Unsurprisingly, shortly after the Saudi prince’s arrival in the “forty” camp, several publications and news columns were filled with information about the upcoming top travels, necessary for the team’s swift promotion to the cohort of the strongest in the Premier League.
Something similar has been done previously by Manchester City, who, after the change of ownership, started spending serious money to upgrade the team. However, 14 years ago, it was much easier for Emirati investors than “citizens” to change the balance of power in English football in a short time. At the time, the idea of introducing financial fair play had already been discussed, but it only took effect three years after the arrival of new owners in Manchester City. This allowed “citizens” to literally overspend during several market windows, inviting all who agreed.
Thanks to the easy money of the owners and the absence of direct bans from UEFA, Manchester City was strengthened in the first seasons by world football stars of those years such as Robinho, Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor, Edin Dzeko, Yaya Toure, Mario Balotelli , David Silva, Aleksandar Kolarov etc. On the part of the “citizens” in fact it was a frantic shopping, aimed solely at bringing the team to the top as soon as possible.
Three years after the arrival of the new owners, Manchester City won the FA Cup (for the first time in 42 years), and in 2012 for the third time in the club’s history and for the first time in the Premier League they became the sample. The task assigned by the UAE investors was completed in the shortest possible time, after which the “citizens” continue to be among the best teams in the Premier League and the entire European continent, maintaining their status and reputation of the season. in season, but no longer throwing money left and right, but preferring to limit oneself to the infamous “punctual amplification”.
Newcastle simply couldn’t go that route. Financial fair play rules are said to allow the Magpies to expect £ 200m in the first four transfer windows with new owners. Only at first glance does one speak of fabulous money, because in reality this is not the case when it comes to competition with Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham. If newcomers to Premier League Nottingham Forest have spent nearly £ 150m on the summer transfer window alone trying to keep their place in the elite, Newcastle need a lot more to compete successfully against best teams of the English football elite, especially when it comes to acquiring stars.
In conclusion, £ 200 million at the moment might barely be enough to buy a conditioned Kylian Mbappé, or two other “cheap” transfers like Anthony and Casemiro. But is it possible to make a qualitative leap to the top with reinforcements only at one or two stars, and even at the Premier League level? It’s unlikely, especially since such decisions would seem like an attempt to cover an old rickety wooden shed with a gilded roof …
That’s why Newcastle’s new owners have chosen a different path, focusing on slow construction of a successful project. In fact, this is such a pragmatic approach by billionaires that they focus their funds and efforts on incremental improvements, laying brick by brick.
In the first transfer window with new investors, Newcastle spent £ 90m, with Lyon’s Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimarães being the club’s most expensive purchase for £ 38m. At that time, this player already had the glory of a rising star, but he was not a recognized superstar. It was partly a risky investment for the future, not a price for the present, and Guimarães has already demonstrated the fairness of this approach by playing him. In addition to the Brazilian, the Magpies have nonetheless strengthened the roster with more experienced artists who are able to deliver a certain result “here and now”, but are not yet aiming for a place in the top 4. This is Chris Wood, Dan Byrne and Kieran Trippier, whose experience and skill have enabled Newcastle to positively resolve the issue of maintaining residence in the Premier League at the end of the 2021/22 season.
Already in the summer, having solved the first intermediate task, Newcastle thought about how to take the next step in development and gain a foothold among the top teams. To do this, it was decided to strengthen the team with young and promising artists: 63 million pounds were spent on 22-year-old Swedish Alexander Isak of Real Sociedad, 33 million on his Dutch peer Sven Botman of Lille and 10 million by “Burnley has been taken over by 30-year-old goalkeeper Nick Pope, who is able to add more skills over the next few years and close the troubled goalkeeping issue for Newcastle in the medium term.
Each of these transfers so far appears to be an exceptionally successful decision by Newcastle management. It is also indicative that in the summer the Magpies abandoned their long-term goal, which was 20-year-old Reims center forward and French youth Hugo Ekitike. The reason was the increased demand for a commission from the agents of a football player asking Newcastle £ 1 million. But the Saudis and their football advisors decided not to give the club the glory of a bottomless barrel of money and turned down the deal, as a result of which Ekitike on loan to Paris Saint-Germainwhere he didn’t have time to show himself.
Aside, it is worth mentioning the figure of the head coach. Few would have thought that Newcastle owners, who have incredible money at their disposal, would have preferred to entrust their football idea not to one of the famous mentors of our time, but to someone whose figure has remained in the shadows for many years. This also showed a healthy pragmatism, when the team was entrusted to a fairly young, but already gained experience, including in the Premier League with Bournemouth, Eddie Howe. Below him, the Magpies, in fact, demonstrate the gradual progress the Saudis wanted to see from the team.
With Howe and current staffing potential, are Newcastle able to aim for the Champions League zone by the end of the 2022/23 season? It is unlikely, despite the Magpies having only lost once in their first 12 Premier League games and now have 21 points in their fortune. In order to compete fully with the giants of the Premier League, Newcastle are still missing two or three high-level players, but their purchase is certainly part of the concept for the further development of the club and will be made exactly when it makes sense for it. will present the right opportunity. Everything must be done on time and in the most rational way possible: it seems that the owners of the Newcastle are guided by precisely these reasons at this moment.
Perhaps in a year or two the time will come to remove Eddie Howe himself, calling in his place a top coach of the caliber of Zinedine Zidane or Carlo Ancelotti. But before that, the team will have to reach the level of ambition that the French and Italians are used to. Ultimately, it’s about the long-term game. And in this Guardiola is absolutely right when he says that Newcastle have not been a one day project.
