What has Transformed Since the Newcastle United Acquisition?
Eddie Howe's voice trailed off.
"I recall walking around the practice facility when we arrived that first time," remarked the team's manager last week. "It was…"
Howe was not suddenly getting misty-eyed, but considering the work needed to improve the club's dated Benton base following his appointment nearly four years ago.
Newcastle had recently been acquired by a investment group from Saudi Arabia in a £305m deal.
The club had been labeled the richest 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 possibly Championship standards".
The base 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 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?
Further Improvements Required but Things Will Change
Matt Ritchie felt it.
He knew what could happen if Howe "took charge" and "possessed attacking talent", after having collaborated with the manager at Bournemouth.
"Upon my initial joining, I would discuss Eddie Howe and Bournemouth," said the veteran attacker, 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 tell them there was no stone left unturned."
"I was so pleased that they got to sample 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 elements that make Newcastle what they are now."
It has not been entirely smooth, of course, since Howe's appointment or the takeover a short time before.
Newcastle, presently 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 British record £125m.
The club do not have a sporting director after Paul Mitchell departed in June, following less than a year in the post.
And the delay persists for announcements concerning the development of St James' Park and building of a modern training facility.
But this is a team that broke a 70-year drought 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 largest victory 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. "Of course, the squad has evolved. Inevitably, teams develop and transform over time."
"Our operational methods behind the scenes as a football club is totally different but, also, if you examine the training ground here, there have been major enhancements. That's what the club needed and continues to need."
"We need more, but things will change and slowly develop over time. It's exciting times for the football club."
Attempting to Close Significant Income Disparity
Newcastle have also grown 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 in the coming months, while employee count have more than doubled to 550 in recent years.
There has been substantial investment in the youth system and the women's team, while substantial sums have been invested in the club to help with operational expenses.
But one query observers may pose is why the financial resources of their Saudi owners hasn't yielded more achievements.
Though fresh acquisitions have arrived - around £100m after deductions was invested in the summer - this has been a relatively gradual build.
"Because the new ownership were so wealthy, on paper, a lot of people made an assumption that they were going to buy the way to the top," explained a Newcastle fan analyst.
"Yes, Newcastle have recruited some top-class players like Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali, but the progress of current team members and the acquisition of players like Dan Burn from the region to bolster that feeling around the club has been massive and crucial."
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 essential for Newcastle.
For context, Manchester United may have endured their worst campaign in more than four decades last season, but the club still produced historic income of £666.5m.
Digging deeper, Manchester United brought in £333.3m worth of sponsorship revenue and £160.3m in gate receipts.
Newcastle, by contrast, generated £83.6m and £50.1m respectively 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, historically, the sides who spend more 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 superior packages before the current rules were implemented in 2013.
But Newcastle 'only' had the eighth largest salary bill in the Premier League just a couple of seasons ago and the club came extremely near to a PSR breach in June 2024 following years of imbalanced trading.
"I'm not necessarily sure 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 arise. This is a way of establishing a limitation."
Newcastle are going to have to operate a little differently - and that has been evident since the takeover.
In fact, an anonymous official previously contacted the Premier League on behalf of his club and 10 others amid apprehension Newcastle could secure valuable commercial agreements with Saudi Arabian companies.
He requested that notification was provided of a vote to implement a short-term ban on related-party transactions just five days after the buy-out in 2021.
This high-ranking official openly admitted the Newcastle takeover "increased" worries and "encouraged the clubs to seek action" when he was later questioned by Manchester City's legal team.
'No-one Should Excuse Human Rights Situation in Saudi Arabia'
The APT regulations have been updated and continue to apply.
But Newcastle's new CEO, 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 worked with the Canadian at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.
"The team under his leadership were always attempting to concentrate 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 progressive with a inquisitive nature in new concepts. Innovative, 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 establish 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 co-investor Jamie Reuben.
But a human rights campaigner said "success and trophies are diverting attention from executions and repression" after a record 345 people were executed in Saudi Arabia last year.
"This extended beyond football," he continued. "It's about leveraging the worldwide reputation of the Premier League to sanitise a brutal human rights record."
A local MP was the first to admit she "wouldn't choose Saudi Arabia as the owners of the club".
However, she stressed supporters were the "final individuals who get to choose".
"When you make it all about money, which the Premier League have, those with the most money will end up winning the prestigious teams like Newcastle United," she said.
"However, nobody ought to justify, support, or excuse Saudi Arabia's human rights record."
