What has Transformed Since the Newcastle Takeover?
Eddie Howe's words faded.
"I remember strolling through the training ground when we came up that initial period," remarked the Newcastle United head coach last week. "It was…"
Howe wasn't suddenly getting misty-eyed, but reflecting on the work required to enhance the club's tired Benton headquarters following his hiring almost four years back.
Newcastle had recently been taken over by a investment group from Saudi Arabia in a multi-million pound transaction.
The club had been labeled the wealthiest in the world by observers, but the situation on the ground was quite distinct as they fought relegation.
In a planning application to upgrade the facility a short time after, it was even stated the training facility fell "significantly below the Premier League and perhaps even Championship standards".
The facility has since been updated with recovery and cold pools, a updated dining area, a athletes' relaxation space and expanded locker rooms, among other features, but it is the team that has been completely revolutionized since then.
So what has evolved since the takeover and why didn't the financial power of Newcastle's owners guarantee more achievements and trophies?
Further Improvements Required but Progress Will Come'
Matt Ritchie sensed it.
He understood what could happen if Howe "took charge" and "had some firepower", after having collaborated with the manager at Bournemouth.
"Upon my initial joining, I would discuss Eddie Howe and Bournemouth," said the 36-year-old winger, who played for Newcastle between 2016 and 2024.
"My teammates would say, 'enough, drop it, he can't have been that good'. But I'd explain there was complete thoroughness."
"I felt delighted that they experienced it. Until you actually see it and feel it, you don't truly believe you have never experienced such intensity. It's the meticulous planning, the planning and the desire to improve - all the elements that make Newcastle what they are now."
It has not all been plain sailing, of course, since Howe's appointment or the takeover a short time before.
Newcastle, currently mid-table in the top division, missed out on a several objectives during a exhausting transfer period and lost striker Alexander Isak to Liverpool for a British record £125m.
The club lack a technical director after Paul Mitchell left in June, following under twelve months in the post.
And the wait continues for updates concerning the future of St James' Park and construction of a new state-of-the-art training ground.
But this is a team that ended a seven-decade wait to claim a significant cup back in March after winning the Carabao Cup by defeating Liverpool.
They have qualified for the Champions League in multiple recent campaigns - recording their biggest win in the competition against Union Saint-Gilloise this week - and only Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal have accumulated more points in the Premier League since Howe took charge.
"A lot has changed just in terms of the general feeling of the club," added Howe. "Naturally, the squad has evolved. Inevitably, teams develop and transform over time."
"Our operational methods behind the scenes as a football club is completely transformed but, additionally, if you look around the training ground here, there have been big improvements. That's what the club needed and still needs."
"Further development is necessary, but progress will occur and slowly develop over time. It's a promising period for the football club."
Attempting to Close Huge Revenue Gap
Newcastle have expanded significantly off the field.
Revenue is projected to rise from £140m in 2021 to more than £400m when the club's most recent financial reports are released later this season, while employee count have more than doubled to 550 in recent years.
There has been significant funding in the academy and the female squad, while hundreds of millions have been pumped into the club to help with operational expenses.
But one question outsiders might be asking is why the financial resources of their Saudi owners hasn't produced more achievements.
Though new signings have arrived - around £100m net was invested in the summer - this has been a moderately paced development.
"Because the new ownership were so wealthy, theoretically, a lot of people made an assumption that they were going to buy the way to the top," stated a Newcastle fan analyst.
"Certainly, Newcastle have brought in some excellent internationals like Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali, but the development of existing squad players and the acquisition of players like Dan Burn from the region to bolster that feeling around the club has been massive and really important."
Such an strategy has been influenced by Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), which limit deficits to £105m over a three-year cycle, so discovering methods to create further headroom will be crucial for Newcastle.
For perspective, Manchester United may have endured their poorest season in more than four decades last season, but the club still generated historic income of £666.5m.
Digging deeper, Manchester United brought in £333.3m worth of commercial income and £160.3m in gate receipts.
Newcastle, by contrast, generated £83.6m and £50.1m correspondingly in their latest financial statements from 2023-24.
Buy-out 'Heightened' Competitors' Worries
Manchester United have not necessarily made the most of their huge income streams, of course.
But, traditionally, the sides who spend more on wages accumulate the most points per game in the Premier League.
Previous disruptors like Manchester City and Chelsea were able to blow their rivals out of the water with better financial offers before the present regulations were implemented in 2013.
But Newcastle 'only' had the eighth highest salary bill in the Premier League just a few years back and the club came mightily close to a PSR breach in June 2024 following years of uneven financial management.
"I'm uncertain these are unintended consequences of the rules," said a sports financial analyst. "The more Machiavellian view of the Premier League is that the clubs at the top didn't want another City or Chelsea to arise. This is a way of establishing a glass ceiling."
Newcastle are going to have to operate a little differently - and that has been clear since the takeover.
In fact, an anonymous official previously contacted the Premier League on behalf of his club and multiple teams amid concern Newcastle could secure lucrative sponsorship deals with Saudi Arabian companies.
He asked that notification was provided of a vote to implement a temporary prohibition on affiliated company deals just shortly following the buy-out in 2021.
This high-ranking official openly admitted the Newcastle takeover "increased" worries and "prompted teams to demand measures" when he was later questioned by Manchester City's legal team.
'No-one Should Excuse Human Rights Situation in Saudi Arabia'
The associated party transaction rules have been updated and continue to apply.
But Newcastle's recently appointed chief executive, David Hopkinson, has aimed to find ways to realize the club's "untapped business opportunities".
That has not come as a surprise to associate Tom Pistore, who collaborated with the Canadian at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.
"Our group under his leadership were always attempting to concentrate on how do we keep progressing?" he said. "Status quo keeps you stuck so it was about continuing to be creative in business and partnership relationships, innovation, digital and ticketing."
"As the landscape changed, David was always very forward facing with a inquisitive nature in new concepts. Leading edge, but not bleeding edge were terms we often talked about in observing early adopters at something and then having a proper evaluation."
Hopkinson, who previously served as president and chief operating officer at Madison Square Garden Sports and head of global partnerships at Real Madrid, wants to position Newcastle "among the world's elite".
That remains the long-term ambition of board leader Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) - who hold controlling interest in the club - as well as co-investor Jamie Reuben.
But a rights activist said "goals and glory are diverting attention from executions and repression" after a record 345 people were put to death in Saudi Arabia last year.
"This extended beyond football," he added. "It's about using the global prestige of the Premier League to cleanse a brutal human rights record."
A local MP was the initial to acknowledge she "wouldn't choose Saudi Arabia as the owners of the club".
However, she stressed supporters were the "last people who get to choose".
"When you make it all about money, which the Premier League have, those with the greatest wealth will end up winning the prestigious teams like Newcastle United," she said.
"However, nobody ought to defend, stand up for, or rationalize Saudi Arabia's human rights record."
