What has Changed Since the Newcastle Takeover?
The manager's words faded.
"I remember strolling through the practice facility when we came up that first time," stated the team's manager last week. "It was…"
Howe was not suddenly getting misty-eyed, but considering the efforts required to enhance the club's tired Benton headquarters following his appointment almost four years back.
Newcastle had recently been acquired by a investment group from Saudi Arabia in a multi-million pound transaction.
The club had been dubbed the wealthiest in the world by outsiders, but the situation on the ground was rather different as they battled relegation.
In a planning application to improve the facility a short time after, it was even stated the training complex fell "significantly below the Premier League and perhaps even Championship standards".
The base has since been updated with recovery and cold pools, a new canteen, a players' lounge and bigger dressing rooms, among other features, but it is the team that has been truly transformed since then.
So what has evolved since the takeover and why didn't the wealth of Newcastle's owners guarantee more success and trophies?
'We Need More but Things Will Change
Matt Ritchie sensed it.
He knew what could happen if Howe "took charge" and "possessed attacking talent", after previously working with the manager at Bournemouth.
"When I first arrived, 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, 'come on, drop it, he couldn't be that good'. But I'd tell them there was complete thoroughness."
"I was so pleased that they experienced it. Until you actually see it and feel it, you can't fully appreciate you have never worked like that before. It's the attention to detail, the preparation and the drive for betterment - all the elements that make Newcastle what they are now."
It has not all been plain sailing, of course, since Howe's arrival or the takeover a short time before.
Newcastle, currently 15th in the Premier League, failed to secure a several objectives during a exhausting transfer period and lost striker Alexander Isak to Liverpool for a record-breaking £125m.
The club do not have a technical director after Paul Mitchell left in June, following under twelve months in the post.
And the delay persists for updates concerning the development of St James' Park and building of a modern training facility.
But this is a side that broke a seven-decade wait to claim a significant cup back in March after winning the Carabao Cup by defeating Liverpool.
They have secured entry to 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 assumed control.
"A lot has changed just in terms of the overall atmosphere of the club," added Howe. "Of course, the team has changed. Naturally, teams develop and transform over time."
"The way we're working behind the scenes as a football club is completely transformed but, additionally, if you examine the training ground here, there have been big improvements. That's what the club required and still needs."
"We need more, but progress will occur and slowly develop over time. It's exciting times for the football club."
Attempting to Close Significant Income Disparity
Newcastle have expanded significantly off the field.
Revenue is projected to rise from £140m in 2021 to upward of £400m when the club's most recent financial reports are released in the coming months, while employee count have increased significantly to 550 in the past few seasons.
There has been substantial investment in the youth system and the female squad, while substantial sums have been invested in the club to help with operational expenses.
But one question observers may pose is why the wealth of their Saudi owners hasn't produced greater success.
Though fresh acquisitions have joined - around £100m after deductions was spent in the summer - this has been a relatively gradual build.
"Since the new ownership were extremely rich, theoretically, a lot of people presumed that they were going to buy the way to the top," stated a Newcastle fan analyst.
"Yes, Newcastle have recruited some excellent internationals like Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali, but the development of existing squad players and the signing of players like Dan Burn from the region to bolster that feeling around the club has been significant and really important."
Such an strategy has been affected by Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), which restrict losses to £105m over a rolling three-year period, so finding a way to create further headroom will be essential for Newcastle.
For context, Manchester United may have endured their poorest season in more than four decades last season, but the club still produced record revenues of £666.5m.
Examining further, Manchester United brought in £333.3m worth of commercial income and £160.3m in matchday revenue.
Newcastle, by comparison, raised £83.6m and £50.1m correspondingly in their latest financial statements from 2023-24.
Buy-out 'Heightened' Competitors' Worries
Manchester United have not always made the most of their substantial revenue sources, of course.
But, traditionally, the sides who invest higher amounts on wages pick up the most points per game in the Premier League.
Earlier challengers like Manchester City and Chelsea were able to blow their rivals out of the water with better financial offers before the current rules were introduced in 2013.
But Newcastle 'only' had the eighth highest salary bill in the Premier League just a couple of seasons ago and the club came mightily close to a PSR breach in June 2024 following years of uneven financial management.
"I'm uncertain these are unforeseen results of the rules," said a football finance expert. "The cynical perspective of the Premier League is that the clubs at the top wished to prevent another City or Chelsea to emerge. This is a way of creating a limitation."
Newcastle are going to have to operate a somewhat uniquely - and that has been evident since the takeover.
In fact, an unnamed executive previously approached the Premier League on behalf of his club and multiple teams amid apprehension Newcastle could secure valuable commercial agreements with Saudi Arabian companies.
He requested 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 senior figure openly admitted the Newcastle takeover "increased" worries and "encouraged the clubs to seek action" when he was later cross-examined by Manchester City's legal team.
Nobody Should Justify Saudi Human Rights Record
The APT regulations have been updated and remain in place.
But Newcastle's recently appointed chief executive, David Hopkinson, has aimed to find ways to realize the club's "under-realised commercial potential".
That has not come as a surprise to associate Tom Pistore, who collaborated with the Canadian at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.
"The team under his leadership were always trying to focus on how do we continue to evolve?" he said. "Maintaining current state keeps you stationary so it was about continuing to be creative in business and partnership relationships, innovation, digital and ticketing."
"With industry evolution, David was always very forward facing with a inquisitive nature in new concepts. Innovative, but not experimental were terms we often talked about in watching someone have the first stab at something and then having a thorough assessment."
Hopkinson, who formerly held positions as president and chief operating officer at Madison Square Garden Sports and head of global partnerships at Real Madrid, wants to position Newcastle "with global top clubs".
That remains the long-term ambition of board leader Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the head of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) - who hold controlling interest in the club - as well as fellow owner Jamie Reuben.
But a human rights campaigner said "goals and glory are distracting from human rights issues" after a historic number were executed in Saudi Arabia last year.
"This extended beyond football," he added. "It's about leveraging the worldwide reputation of the Premier League to cleanse a problematic rights situation."
A political representative 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.
"But no-one should be expected to justify, support, or rationalize Saudi Arabia's human rights record."
