English Premier League: after a dazzling start under Saudi Arabian backing, what has gone wrong for Newcastle United?
- In the first 18 months, Newcastle had their highest league placing in years and qualified for the Champions League
- But this season, Eddie Howe’s men have slipped down the table, are out of all the cups and may need to sell a top player
Newcastle enjoyed a meteoric rise during the first 18 months of their new era under the control of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, but the Magpies’ progress has stalled this season.
Eddie Howe’s men are languishing in 10th place in the Premier League with 10 games to go and any hope of the club’s first major trophy since 1969 is over for another year.
In a season in which the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) have begun to bite, few clubs have been as affected as Newcastle.
In stark contrast to the early days of Abu Dhabi’s huge investment at English champions Manchester City, Newcastle have been limited on how heavily they can lean on their new-found wealth from the Gulf.
Despite qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in 20 years, Newcastle still had to tread a fine line to avoid exceeding PSR after spending more than £250 million (US$315 million) in the first three transfer windows under the new ownership.