How Takeover Changed Newcastle United

Four years on, Newcastle United is a different club with different aims. The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) has transformed everything on and off the pitch alongside minority shareholders the Reuben brothers since their arrival, but not everything has gone to plan.

Considering Newcastle’s predicament in 2021, it is hard to argue that the takeover could have gone much better in terms of results. Newcastle was winless in eight Premier League games with an unfit squad that lacked sufficient quality to compete. Now it is embarking on its second Champions League campaign in three seasons and has already ended the wait for a trophy, which reached 70 years in terms of domestic honours, with full internationals in almost every position.

Head coach Eddie Howe, appointed mere weeks after the new owners arrived, has been the catalyst for success. Yes, money has been spent, bigger money than Newcastle has ever spent before, but Howe’s coaching is his greatest strength. He makes players better; the likes of Fabian Schar and Jacob Murphy were part of the team that was drifting into oblivion; they were both front and centre lifting the Carabao Cup aloft in March.

Bruno Guimaraes is the perfect embodiment of what Newcastle’s current team is about; hope, belief and passion. The Brazil midfielder was one of the first signings of the Saudi project in January 2022; Newcastle were still struggling in the Premier League and safety was far from assured. But Guimaraes was convinced by the vision, and represented the future Newcastle hoped to write. Now he is captain, and after Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest, said he wants more success in the future.

“I’ve been enjoying it a lot,” he said.

“We have changed everything. Two times Champions League in the last three seasons and winning a trophy.

“We have been consistent, but for us it’s not enough, we want more. We want to keep writing history. But it’s been an unbelievable journey so far.”

Newcastle United has faced challenges since the takeover in 2021

But it has been far from positive all the time. Two members of the initial ownership group, Amanda Staveley and her husband Merhdad Ghodoussi, left the club last summer. That was just one chapter of what has felt like constant boardroom upheaval. Newcastle is currently looking to hire a third Sporting Director in two years after Dan Ashworth left for Manchester United and Paul Mitchell, his replacement, resigned out of the blue at the end of last season. Nottingham Forest’s Ross Wilson’s appointment is said to be close, but that has seemingly been the case for a while.

CEO Darren Eales announced last September he would be leaving due to illness and it took almost a year for David Hopkinson to be confirmed as his successor. During that time, there was a lack of communication; there have been no tangible updates to stadium and training ground plans and as a result, frustration has grown in pockets of the fanbase.

Staveley’s exit has accentuated that, too. She was seen as a very warm character in the eyes of players and supporters, and that has not been replaced. Her departure came after a near miss with Profit and Sustainability Rules, when Newcastle was forced to sell Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh in order to comply and avoid a points deduction. It also meant the club went three successive windows without a major first team signing, putting the squad under strain.

Alexander Isak’s exit was an indirect result of those issues. Staveley had reportedly promised the Swede a new contract, which was then reneged on by Mitchell later due to the PSR difficulties. The impact on a human level was the pre-cursor to an incredibly messy departure that did nobody any favours. Sales and profits on players were always part of PIF’s plan, but the manner of Isak’s exit, and the fact he was probably Newcastle’s best player last season, was a bad look and made the start of this campaign all the more difficult.

There are also important questions around Saudi Arabia’s human rights record which many fans continue to ask. NUFC Fans Against Sportswashing is a group that has been very vocal in the past four years, while Union Saint-Gilloise supporters protested against Newcastle’s owners ahead of the Champions League game last week.

Progress has been clear for Newcastle United since the takeover but questions remain and lessons must be learnt. It has been far from perfect, but there is much more to come in the future. Tyneside is a force in English soccer once again.