Communication has been a persistent theme at Newcastle United.
Under Mike Ashley, there was a vacuum of information. Post-takeover, the club’s ownership have been more open.
Although Amanda Staveley departed during the summer, senior figures have continued to speak. Darren Eales, the CEO, and Paul Mitchell, the sporting director, both chatted last summer.
On Wednesday, that duo were joined at STACK fan zone outside St James’ Park, by Peter Silverstone, the chief commercial officer (CCO), Brad Miller, the chief operating officer (COO), and Simon Capper, the chief financial officer (CFO).
Thousands of fans were present for the “We Are United” fan event, either in person or via video. The hierarchy spoke for an hour, answering questions about Eales’ health, the search for a new CEO, Mitchell’s relationship with head coach Eddie Howe, recruitment, the future of St James’ and more.
The Athletic’s Chris Waugh outlines the key takeaways.
Eales’ health — and the search for a new CEO
Eales spoke first about his health, following news of his chronic blood cancer diagnosis in September.
“I’m doing great, thanks,” Eales said. “It’s incredible, the support I got from fans. I want to say thank you. I’m trying to take the positives.”
A spontaneous round of applause followed, before Eales was asked about the timeframe for his departure and the search for his successor. He confirmed that the owners — Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) hold an 85 per cent majority stake and the Reuben family have the remaining 15 per cent — are leading that recruitment process.
Former Arsenal CEO Vinai Venkatesham has been linked, but suggestions he has been identified as the next chief executive appear premature.
“I’ve got a notice period, so the intention is it’s ‘business as usual’,” Eales said. “The idea was to give that notice so we can do a search and that’s going to be led by ownership. It’s to find the best person possible and to give them the best transition so that they can hit the ground running.”
At the end, Eales also received the loudest applause, with fans grateful for his dedication, despite his diagnosis.
Darren Eales is serving his notice period after announcing he will step down for health reasons (Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)
Mitchell addresses Howe dynamic
It felt like Mitchell had been waiting for this moment, given the aftermath of his media briefing in early September, when the sporting director questioned whether elements of Newcastle’s recruitment strategy had been “fit for purpose”.
He did reassert his claim that he followed a “predetermined (recruitment) strategy” that was already in place, rather than leading an initial shift in direction.
“I’ve had an interesting start, I have to be honest,” Mitchell smirked, admitting that you do not want to arrive during a transfer window, as he did in July. “I’m actually 21… I looked a lot better pre-July!”
A word Mitchell repeated several times was “collaboration”. Howe has regularly said the same and Mitchell did not shy away from the topic. Instead, he gave a few jibes at some of the coverage, admitting he is “not a big fan” of media and social media.
“You know, I was enjoying ‘Eddie and Paul watch’ in September,” Mitchell joked, referring to questions posed towards Howe in press conferences. “‘Have they spoken to each other today?’ I actually thought that was quite good.”
After his light-hearted answer, Mitchell did tackle what he accepts is a serious subject, given Howe went public with his concerns about “boundaries” in July.
Mitchell praised Howe’s qualities, insisting he is “definitely” among the “talented head coaches” the sporting director has worked with across Europe. He was also complimentary about the playing style, stating that he believes it “mirrors us as a club and a fanbase”.
The sporting director sees his role as working with Howe in “an intelligent way” so that Newcastle can “become competitive at the top end of the Premier League, where we want to be, and get back into Europe”.
“We work closely, it’s natural collaboration,” Mitchell said. “He’s the head coach and I’m the sporting director. The notion that we live in each other’s pockets, that we spend every waking hour in each other’s company, is wrong.
“Eddie is an elite professional and it would be remiss of me or any sporting director to be looking over his shoulder, to be on the training pitch, to be micromanaging someone who is extremely talented at what he does.
“My job is to support, to challenge, discuss, debate — all for the benefit of the club. But we have a very talented head coach and our collaboration is as frequent or as infrequent as it needs to be…
“But I have other responsibilities as well. My job is short, medium and long-term. So, unfortunately, as much as the myth of the media, and as much as I would like to, I can’t hold hands with Eddie every day. But we had the luxury of doing that at the boxing in Saudi Arabia recently (when footage captured the pair sitting together).”
The additional responsibilities he referenced included supporting the academy and the women’s team, and recruitment. He quipped that it is “my job to make those guys’ lives a living nightmare”, pointing at the panel.
Alongside stressing that he was “fortunate to a degree” because of the platform he inherited, Mitchell doubled down on his view that alterations must be made to recruitment. Given the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR), he intends to tweak Newcastle’s transfer approach, implying he would look to sign younger players.
“We have to continue to develop players to enhance our revenue streams because that’s how we’re going to get to where we want to as quickly as possible,” Mitchell said. “The trading model has become an important element of the modern game.”
Returning to the theme of Howe and who holds the authority — and the ultimate say on incomings — Mitchell tried to myth-bust. He has not, and will not, force any players on the head coach, he insists.
“Contrary to common belief, I don’t make the final decision on player trading,” Mitchell said. “No sporting director does, just to put that out there. It’s a collaborative approach.
“Every sporting director and head coach, they collaborate in the final decision. We have to get a higher percentage right and make good decisions for the short, medium and long term. And that’s what we intend to do.”
Interestingly, Mitchell also revealed the message he regularly repeats to his employees. He said, “I tell them: ‘Now it’s about going from good to great.’ We have super-high ambitions. We have to move forward and be aggressive.”
Paul Mitchell, left, and Eddie Howe pictured with Anthony Gordon last month after the announcement of the winger’s new contract (Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)
PSR and revenue growth dominate the narrative
There was a constant running theme throughout, which every panel member addressed.
“I know we hate the term ‘PSR’, but it’s what we have to work to,” Eales said. “It’s unforgiving for us. We’re walking on a tightrope.”
The CEO reaffirmed the ownership’s willingness to spend up to the club’s maximum, but stressed Newcastle are hindered by their present PSR limitations. He praised Howe for achieving what he has “with the backdrop of PSR” and admitted that there will be peaks and troughs.
“We can’t always do it in one window,” Eales said, seemingly referencing the summer. “We’ll have natural ebbs and flows.”
That is where Silverstone’s role is crucial. As CCO, he is looking to rapidly expand revenue streams.
“We need to grow quicker across different areas, it is relentless and it never stops,” Silverstone said, wearing a retro hoodie made by Adidas – a partnership he kept referencing. A proponent of STACK, Silverstone joked that it was “the only nightclub I’d like to go to” and that “we’re drinking away our PSR troubles because every pound we make goes into Paul’s transfer kitty”. While that was an intended exaggeration, a key reason behind the fan zone was to increase revenues on matchdays and non-matchdays.
Highlighting trips to Japan, the U.S. and Saudi, Silverstone also suggested Newcastle will continue to look outwards in their pursuit of new commercial opportunities. “We have to project everything we do globally,” he said.
For so-called ‘legacy fans’, that might be unpalatable. But in the era of ‘super clubs’, Newcastle can only realise their ambitions by first massively bolstering their revenue.
“PSR is delicate and complicated for us in particular,” Mitchell said, admitting he “probably underestimated that coming in”. Mitchell also commended Howe, Eales and the recruitment team for somehow managing to avoid a points deduction in June, despite Newcastle’s perilous PSR position, because it has provided him with a platform from which to build.
PSR was the reason that Capper — the self-described “bean counter” — was there. He explained that his role is to “support by providing the best team we can afford”, which he believes will require fresh thinking once the present PSR system changes to a “revenue-based model”, as is proposed from next season.
Although many supporters might be sick of reading about PSR — and even sceptical about its effects — the hierarchy were keen to emphasise that it remains an ongoing impediment.
The strongest hint yet on the stadium question
The PSR message segued into the stadium question, which was the evening’s hottest topic.
Rather than brush over the subject, Miller used the event to conduct a non-binding and unofficial referendum.
He admitted that it was not about comparing “apples with apples” but “apples with pears” and offered up two apparently hypothetical options for fans to choose. The implication was that Newcastle have narrowed down options during a year-long feasibility study.
Seemingly two of the most serious considerations which are being further explored are “transforming” St James’ so that it looks “amazing” and “earns significantly more money”, or moving close by, to a venue which potentially has “a lot more seats” and has “the potential to earn more than twice as much revenue”.
This offered the strongest hint yet that Newcastle are “seriously” considering moving nearby — Leazes Park, which is next door, is reportedly an alternative site — as opposed to an expensive redevelopment of St James’, with the increased revenue on “matchday and non-matchday” that avenue’s rationale.
Miller laughed off suggestions Newcastle will be moving far afield, such as to Murrayfield, in Edinburgh, even temporarily. “If we were to move — and it wouldn’t be that far away — we weren’t looking to stretch the elastic band and the connection to the city to the point of breaking,” Miller said.
The panel stressed that no decision has been made, with Eales insisting the club remain open-minded and that it is “absolutely imperative” that it will be “a fan-led decision”. The club’s Fan Advisory Board (FAB) will be consulted and wider opinion will be canvassed, but for now they continue to “develop the options”.
Importantly, Eales responded to suggestions PIF is losing interest and that it might opt against providing the finance required to renovate St James’ or build a new stadium.
“Absolutely (they are committed to financing it), the ownership have been incredible,” Eales said, pointing to the latest £35million ($44.4m) cash injection via a single-share issue. “They’re behind us, but we want to make the right decision and so we’ve got to flesh out what we’re going to do, present a business case, and it has to make sense for what we’re trying to do.”
Investment in Newcastle (the city) to follow?
There were also little indicators, which were not fleshed out, that further infrastructure projects, inside the club and around the city, might be announced soon.
Miller explained that his role overseeing infrastructure investments involves the stadium, the training ground, the academy and “our future plans”. He did not directly reference a new training ground, but plans to recalibrate the present site are being explored, and the long-proposed idea is that Newcastle will build a state-of-the-art facility elsewhere.
Capper, meanwhile, was asked whether infrastructure spending is exempt from PSR calculations. He replied that it was complicated, but “it’s mostly outside”.
He continued: “This (STACK) is an example of the type of thing we’re looking at across the business in terms of investing capital to generate more revenue from the club going forward. We’ve got some exciting pipeline ideas. A lot of them are not quite ready to share, but they are bubbling under. And hopefully, over the next few months, we’ll be revealing a bit more about how we grow the revenue by investing in Newcastle and this club.”
The implication is that Newcastle are looking at investing beyond the footprint of the stadium and into the wider city.
(Top photos: Getty Images)
