SIMON JORDAN: I’m pleased for Newcastle’s remarkable fans… but here’s why they shouldn’t kid themselves that League Cup glory alone will be enough to keep hold of their stars
I’ve caught some shrapnel this week because I wasn’t prepared to do the obligatory fawning and gushing over Newcastle for winning the same League Cup as Luton, Swansea and Birmingham.
I am pleased for Newcastle and their fans are remarkable but I wasn’t going to act like a gurning buffoon because a state-owned club winning a trophy is greeted as a fairytale.
I’m also grounded in realism about the challenges facing Newcastle next. How can they become a dominant force when they are stymied by Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR)?
Clubs like them aspiring to be in the top echelons have no margin for error with any major decision, including buying players. It’s unrealistic to get every one right so they are more likely to dip in and out of achievements than dominate.
For Newcastle to match the elite, they have to spend. To spend, they need turnover. To increase turnover, they need to spend to achieve better results. Around and around you go.
They can’t buy success like teams of the past – the rules don’t allow.
Newcastle ending their trophy drought at Wembley will be a day their fans never forget
But the odds are stacked against the Magpies when it comes to keeping hold of Alexander Isak
Despite his obvious love for Newcastle, Bruno Guimaraes will also find it hard to turn down a legacy club if they come calling
So, what does it mean for star players like Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes?
Let’s be clear, nearly every player will leave for the chance of somewhere better, regardless of the emotion we saw at Wembley on Sunday. When a legacy club comes calling – whether it be Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool Bayern Munich, Arsenal or whoever – the Isaks of this world are on their way.
Newcastle want to keep him and their main hope is if they set a £125million price tag. There isn’t a lot of money sloshing around because of commercial liquidity or meeting financial governance. Even then, these clubs can often find a way with player trading.
I hope I am wrong but the challenges are weighted against Newcastle. Isak may prove an exception and dedicate the rest of his career to Newcastle – as Jamie Vardy did with Leicester when Arsenal came calling – but I’m sure the Swede is ambitious and if Newcastle can’t catch their competitors in revenue generation and then the likely success that brings, how can they catch up on the field?
Their get-out-of-jail card with Isak might be nobody can afford the price. But if a legacy club offers £95mi and the player decides, actually I do want to go to Real Madrid, what are you going to do then?
I don’t want to suck out the joy for Newcastle but I know what comes next. Basking in the glory of getting Crystal Palace into the Premier League, I remember taking endless calls from agents either demanding more money for my current players or offering me new ones for big fees.
So, reality will hit for Newcastle pretty quickly. The Saudis have the money to pay Isak what they want, but rules prevent it. He is the Golden Boy, any team in Europe would want him, and he has the power to decide where his future lies no matter how much the magnificent Toon Army adores him.
