Turning this Newcastle United squad into one that is Champions League calibre is not something that will be done overnight.
While Newcastle United did very well to qualify for the Champions League and more than held their own, the club are still quite far away from being regulars in Europe’s elite competition.
But that is the Toon owners‘ aim. PIF want to be competing at the top year after year, and winning trophies consistently.
That is an alien concept for Newcastle fans, who have not seen their club lift silverware since 1969. The last time Newcastle won a domestic trophy was 1955.
But with new ownership, fresh investment and proper ambition, there is belief that will change in the coming years.
We have had a hint of success by qualifying for the Champions League and reaching the 2023 League Cup final, but this season has proven just how tough it will be to replicate what we did last year on a consistent basis.
PSR is holding Newcastle United back
One of the reasons why is profit and sustainability. While Newcastle have the richest owners in the world in PIF, they are not the richest club.
Financial rules mean that the Magpies are unable to spend what they want, and it is why there is such a focus on the club increasing its revenue – either through sponsorship or player sales.
And that is why some fans find it baffling that squad players who have not been important players for years are still part of Eddie Howe‘s squad.
The likes of Matt Ritchie and Paul Dummett are still with Newcastle United, even though neither of them have been regular starters for a long time.
People inside Newcastle ‘exasperated’ over fan complaint
A lot of fans believe that players like Ritchie and Dummett should have been moved on by now, and this is something that some people within the club find frustrating.
That is according to the Athletic’s Chris Waugh, who has written about the Magpies being unable to fully rebuild their squad due to PSR.
“There are those inside the club who become rather exasperated when some supporters query why some ageing players or rarely used squad members are kept on, with Matt Ritchie and Paul Dummett being prime examples this season,” he wrote.
“Yet they point to the cost of replacing them, with even squad players costing £10m-plus in the present environment.”
Newcastle are trying to achieve too much too soon
This Newcastle United project is going at an incredible speed.
It started with the club in a relegation battle, with Eddie Howe inheriting an ageing squad that had seriously been struggling under Steve Bruce.
By the end of his first full season, Newcastle United were a Champions League club – while a lot of those players remained.
In a perfect world, Newcastle would now have a squad that is capable of playing at that level consistently. However, it just is not possible. The players who Newcastle need to move on are not worth that much, yet it would cost a lot to replace them, as they would need to be a step up in quality to be at the level the Magpies need.
It is almost as if Newcastle are trying to achieve too much too soon. Howe has taken the club so far in such a short space of time, and it is incredibly difficult to continue at this speed given the financial rules that are holding us back.
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