What has Changed Since the Newcastle Acquisition?
Eddie Howe's words faded.
"I remember strolling through the training ground when we came up that first time," stated the team's manager recently. "It was…"
Howe was not becoming sentimental, but reflecting on the work needed to improve the club's dated Benton base following his appointment almost four years back.
Newcastle had not long been acquired by a investment group from Saudi Arabia in a multi-million pound transaction.
The club had been dubbed the richest in the world by outsiders, but the situation on the ground was quite distinct as they fought relegation.
In a planning application to improve the facility a few months later, it was even stated the training facility fell "significantly below the Premier League and possibly Championship standards".
The base has since been modernised with recovery and plunge pools, a new canteen, a athletes' relaxation space and expanded locker rooms, among other features, but it is the squad that has been completely revolutionized since then.
So what has changed since the takeover and why didn't the wealth of Newcastle's owners automatically mean more achievements and trophies?
'We Need More but Progress Will Come'
Matt Ritchie sensed it.
He understood what could happen if Howe "got hold of them" and "possessed attacking talent", after having collaborated with the manager at Bournemouth.
"Upon my initial joining, I would talk about Eddie Howe and Bournemouth," said the veteran attacker, who played for Newcastle between 2016 and 2024.
"My teammates would say, 'come on, drop it, he can't have been that good'. But I'd explain there was no stone left unturned."
"I was so pleased that they experienced it. Without firsthand exposure, you can't fully appreciate you have never worked like that before. It's the attention to detail, the preparation and the desire to improve - all the things that make Newcastle what they are now."
It has not been entirely smooth, of course, since Howe's appointment or the takeover a few weeks prior.
Newcastle, presently mid-table in the top division, missed out on a several objectives during a draining summer window and sold forward Alexander Isak to Liverpool for a British record £125m.
The club do not have a technical director after Paul Mitchell departed 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 new state-of-the-art training ground.
But this is a side that broke a seven-decade wait to win a major domestic trophy back in March after winning the Carabao Cup by beating Liverpool.
They have qualified for the Champions League in two of the past three seasons - achieving 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.
"Significant transformation just in terms of the general feeling of the club," added Howe. "Naturally, the team has changed. Inevitably, teams progress and change over time."
"Our operational methods behind the scenes as a football club is totally different but, additionally, if you look around the training ground here, there have been big improvements. That's what the club needed and continues to need."
"We need more, but things will change and slowly develop over time. It's a promising period for the football club."
Trying to Bridge Significant Income Disparity
Newcastle have expanded significantly off the field.
Revenue is set to increase from £140m in 2021 to upward of £400m when the club's most recent financial reports are released later this season, 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 pumped into the club to help with operational expenses.
But one query observers may pose is why the financial resources of their Saudi owners hasn't produced greater success.
Though new signings have joined - around £100m after deductions was spent in the summer - this has been a moderately paced development.
"Because the new ownership were extremely rich, 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 recruited some excellent internationals like Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali, but the progress of current team members and the signing of players like Dan Burn from the region to bolster that feeling around the club has been significant and crucial."
Such an strategy has been influenced 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 perspective, Manchester United may have endured their worst campaign in more than four decades last season, but the club still produced record revenues of £666.5m.
Examining further, Manchester United earned £333.3m worth of sponsorship revenue and £160.3m in gate receipts.
Newcastle, by contrast, raised £83.6m and £50.1m respectively in their most recent published accounts from 2023-24.
Buy-out 'Heightened' Rivals' Concerns
Manchester United have not necessarily 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.
Previous disruptors like Manchester City and Chelsea were able to blow their rivals out of the water with better financial offers before the current rules 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 football finance expert. "The more Machiavellian view of the Premier League is that the clubs at the top didn't want another City or Chelsea to emerge. This is a way of establishing a limitation."
Newcastle are going to have to operate a little differently - and that has been clear since the takeover.
In fact, an anonymous official previously approached the Premier League on behalf of his club and 10 others amid concern 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 high-ranking official publicly acknowledged the Newcastle takeover "increased" worries and "prompted teams to demand measures" when he was later cross-examined by Manchester City's legal team.
'No-one Should Excuse Saudi Human Rights Record
The APT regulations have been revised and remain in place.
But Newcastle's recently appointed chief executive, David Hopkinson, has set out to find ways to unlock the club's "untapped business opportunities".
That has been expected to associate Tom Pistore, who collaborated with the Canadian at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.
"The team under his leadership were always attempting to concentrate on how do we keep progressing?" he said. "Maintaining current state keeps you stuck so it was about remaining innovative 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. Leading edge, but not bleeding edge were terms we often talked about in observing early adopters 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 chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor 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 record 345 people were put to death in Saudi Arabia last year.
"This extended beyond football," he continued. "It's about leveraging the worldwide reputation of the Premier League to cleanse a problematic rights situation."
A political representative was the first to admit she "would not select 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 great clubs like Newcastle United," she said.
"However, nobody ought to defend, stand up for, or excuse Saudi Arabia's human rights record."