Sportski direktor Newcastle Uniteda Dan Ashworth sastao se novinarima iz Newcastlea gde je rekao nekoliko važnih stvari za bidićnost kluba.

"I think everybody would admit there are certain areas of the club that have been run on more of a skeleton framework and a survival basis. It was like, ‘If we can stay in the Premier League, that’s fine or enough’.

"That’s not enough anymore.

"So, consequently, we have to upscale the majority of departments and facilities in order to try to achieve our goals, which are to finish higher up the league and compete for trophies.

"They are our aspirational targets, and that’s the trajectory the club is going towards over the next few years. So, consequently, there is a building out of structures and capacity needed, in order to be able to achieve that.

"Some things are probably stocked and fit for purpose, but there are other areas that needed improvement. In some, that was an issue of head count, in others it might have been a facilities issue.

"So, the training ground is going through a period of improving our capacity. That’s not only to fit more people in there, it’s also to improve it for players on recovery, on diet and nutrition, a lot of money has gone into new training pitches for example.

"There are some short-term fixes you can have. But then there’s also the longer-term question of whether (the club needs) a purpose-built training (complex) that can incorporate an academy, women’s and first team, that may or may not be coming down the track. That’s more about the long-term, and those are processes that are harder to fix.

"Being pitched into a summer window without building relationships and understanding how the board works, how Eddie works or how the recruitment works, has been a challenge.

"Obviously, you are stuck within a tight timeframe because the transfer window shuts on September 1.

"So, it was about getting players out and off the books, getting some players in on loan from a development pathway point of view, adjusting contracts, for example Elliot Anderson, and then bringing in some senior and youth recruits.

"We brought in five senior players, and signed five younger players (for the development ranks). I’ve been doing this job 15 years now, and I don’t think I’ve ever said the day after deadline, ‘That was perfect and we got every position we wanted and everybody we wanted’.

"I would always like more emerging talents for the category of those younger players, and possibly one more to support the first team. But, overall, I was really pleased with the players we signed and business we did.”

photo: nufc.co.uk

CEO Newcastle Uniteda Darren Eales je pričao i odgovarao na pitanja na BBC Newcastle Radio:

"The reality is we aren’t like Manchester City when they had the takeover or even Chelsea. We haven’t got a blank sheet of paper where you can just spend what you want.

"There are regulations in place, so we have to get from A to B in a smart way. In a way, it's not that different from building a club from scratch at Atalanta. Yes, you’ve got a vision of where you want to be, you have a strategy, but it takes time.

"It’s always going to be evolving. We’re going a little bit from a low bar. It's going to be incremental, it’s not going to be just flicking a switch. I joke it’s like a 130-year-old start-up.

"It would make sense in terms of some of the doors that could be opened by PIF (to Saudi Arabian companies). They invest in a number of countries globally. I also think when you look at a country like Saudi Arabia with a young population, 36m and growing… there is some natural affinity there in terms of the commercial value of having an association with Newcastle.

"For us, we’re looking globally. The reality is the Premier League is the number one league in the world in all sports. It’s just incredible its reach. That is a great advantage when you’re talking to brands.

"When you layer on top of that the exciting journey we’re on with Newcastle - the history, heritage, passion of the fan base, it really does give us some great opportunities.

"The rules are there for fair market value (not to stop us being sponsored by Saudi companies) and the days are gone of it just being advertising and a name on the shirt.

"On FFP, the reality is we have some challenges. I like to think of opportunities and that helps guide our strategy.

"It’s something we are looking at now. In the year since the takeover you have seen all the changes there have been under the new owners in terms of infrastructure so we have already laid the bedrock in what we need to do in terms of delivering on commercial.

“We have a long way to go, but I’m excited. Around the world of football, there is a focus on this club.

"Newcastle United has an exciting storyline. It’s a club with a great history but one that hasn’t won a European trophy since 1969 or domestic one since 1955. Yet the fans still turn out and that is unique. That is something that we’ve got here that is really special and that is going to be really attractive to commercial sponsors.

"Hence, I’ve already felt, we are a club on a journey and part of the attraction for commercial brands is coming on that journey and being able to say they were onboard at the start.

"It’s not all going to happen at once but we can put the building blocks in place and we have some natural advantages that this is such a great football club.”

On the sale of stadium naming rights:

"As we think about anything to do with the stadium, we’ll talk to the supporters because, ultimately, it would be crazy to try and do something if all the supporters are against it. Bad business. It doesn’t matter what revenue you’re getting from that, it just doesn’t work.

"With the history of the club, something like stadium naming rights would be something where we’d be talking to the fans.

"Sometimes there’s a danger if you’re just chasing revenue; we want to have the best fan engagement. If we want to do anything with the stadium we’ll talk to the supporters. It would be crazy not to.

"It’s important that, anything we do, we bring our supporters along with us. Fan engagement is going to be front and centre.

"We want to be a top-six club consistently competing for trophies so it’s about how we get there but we also want to be sustainable.”

On remaining at SJP:

"This is the place we want to be: We have to look at, 'Can we expand it in any way?'

"It's champagne problems, though, that's the beauty of it. Hopefully it's going to be a conundrum that is going to get harder and harder because we want to be growing the club, we want to be growing the fanbase."

photo: bbcradionewcastle

NEWCASTLE UNITED  -  BRENTFORD  5 : 1

Newcastle United je odličnom igrom i sa pet golova u mreži Brentforda na najlepši mogući način obeležio godišnjicu preuzimanja kluba. Wor Flags su pre početka meča razvili šetalicu na Gallowgate tribini sa motivima preuzimanja kluba sa motivima sa Sky Sportsa tog dana.

Prvu priliku na meču imao je Miguel Almiron koji je sa osamnaest metara šutirao levom nogom ka gostujućem golu ali istakao se njihov golman David Raya, koji je prelepom paradom loptu izbacio u korner.

Igrao se 10. minut utakmice kada je Bryan Mbeumo zatresao mrežu crno-belih, ali je gol opravdano poništen jer se u ofsajd poziciji nalazio Toney, koji je varkom tela uticao na igru i sudija John Brooks je uz pomoć VAR sistema poništio gol Pčelicama.

U 21. minutu utakmice Almiron izvodi korner dodajući loptu do Trippiera koji se nalazio na poziciji desnog krila. Usledio je centaršut na dalju stativu gde se iz drugog plana ubacio Bruno Guimaraes koji glavom loptu smešta u donji levi ugao gola golmana gostiju Davida Raye za 1:0. Prvi ovosezonski gol za Bruna Guimaraesa.

Samo sedam minuta kasnije David Raya pod pritiskom Jacoba Murphya greši i dodaje loptu do Wilsona. Ovaj ulazi u šesnaesterac gostiju i nesebično vraća loptu Jacobu Murphyu koji sa sedam metara desnom nogom postiže najlakši gol u svojoj karijeri za 2:0. Prvi ovosezonski gol i za Jacoba Murphya.

Do kraja poluvremena nije bilo prilika tako da se u svlačionicu otišlo rezultatom 2:0 za Newcastle United.

U nastavku igre Newcastle United svesno ili nesvesno prepušta posed lopte igračima Brentforda i to se odmah odrazilo na rezultat.

Već posle šest minuta igre golman Svraka Nick Pope je morao da interveniše posle udarca Mbeuma. Međutim, u nastavku te akcije posle centaršuta sa levog boka u šesnaesterac Newcastle Uniteda, posle povratne glavom od strane Aarona Hickeya, visokog Dana Burna lopta pogađa u ruku i sudija John Brooks svira jedanesterac za goste. Siguran izvođač sa bele tačke bio je bivša Svraka Ivan Toney, smanjivši rezultat na 2:1 u 54. minutu.

Da se Pčelice previše ne razlete pobrinuo se Bruno Guimaraes koji je u 56. minutu utakmice oduzeo loptu jednom igraču gostiju skoro na centru igrališta, stuštio se ka protivničkom golu i preciznim udarcem desnom nogom sa preko dvadest pet metara pogodio desni donji ugao gola golmana Brentforda Davida Raye za 3:1. Bruno! Bruno! - Orilo se St James' Parkom!!! Bruno uzvraća navijačima pokazujući na grb Newcastle Uniteda na svetom crno-belom dresu.

U 82. minutu utakmice defanzivac gostiju Ethan Pinnock je paničio, kratko gurnuo loptu do svog golmana Raye koju preseca neumorni Miguel Almiron, koji je lako levom nogom šalje u praznu mrežu sa šest metara za 4:1. Wor Miggy gol proslavlja ljubeći Paragvajsku zastavu ispred Gallowgate tribine! Četrvti ovosezonski gol u Premier League za Almirona, čime je on trenutno najbolji strelac Newcastle Uniteda.

U 90. minutu igre rezervista Allan Saint-Maximin gura loptu ka levom boku ka rezervisti Joelintonu koji gotovo sa gol-aut linije vraća povratnu loptu ka rezervisti Chrisu Woodu. Međutim, baš ispred Wooda nespretno reaguje defanzivac gostiju Ethan Pinnock koji loptu šalje u sopstvenu mrežu za totalni mizeriju Pčelica i za konačan rezultat Newcastle United - Brentford 5:1.


Konačan rezultat: 5 : 1


NUFC: Pope, Trippier (Targett 84), Schar, Botman, Burn, S.Longstaff, Guimaraes (Saint-Maximin 78), Willock, Almiron (Anderson 84), Wilson (Wood 84), Murphy (Joelinton 66).
Subs n/u: Lewis, Karius, Dummett, Lascelles, Fraser.

BFC: Raya, Ajer, Mee (Damsgaard 71), Pinnock, Hickey (Ghoddos 83), Jensen, Baptiste (Onyeka 63), Dasilva (Janelt 46), Henry, Mbeumo (Wissa 62), Toney.
Subs n/u: Canos, M.Jorgensen, Roerslev, Cox.

Sudija: John Brooks u VAR sobi je sedeo Paul Tierney

Gledalaca: 52,067 (oko 2,700 gostujućih navijača. U loži Amanda Staveley, njen suprug Mehrdad Ghodoussi kao i mladi Jamie Reuben)

P.S.
Posle devet utakmica imamo 14 bodova i trenutno se nalazimo na visokom šestom mestu na tabeli Premier League. Tek sad vidimo koliko treba žaliti jer nismo pobedili ni Crystal Palace kod kuće gde nam je ukradena pobeda i Bournemouth kod kuće, gde smo od mogućih šest bodova osvojili svega dva. No, dobro je. Bitno je da ne gubimo utakmice. Ako ovako budemo nastavili biće ovo lepa sezona posle mnogo mnogo godina za Newcastle United.

Newcastle United je prethodni put postigao pet golova sada već davnog toplog maja 2016. godine kada smo pobedili Tottenham rezultatom 5:1 na St James' Parku u danu kada smo i pre tog poslednjeg kola ispali iz Premier League. Tada je naš trener bio Rafael Benitez.

Pravi test nas očekuje sledeće nedelje kada gostujemo na Old Traffordu ekipi Manchester Uniteda koja se nalazi na petom mestu na tabeli Premier League. Bilo bi lepo i dobro da ne izgubimo taj duel. Međutim, verujem da će Eddie Howe spremiti ekipu koja će ići na pobedu.

photo: nufc.co.uk i true-faith.co.uk

Na današnji dan pre tačno godinu dana, Newcastle United je prodat Saudijskom investicionom fondu PIF) za £305M. U vlasničkoj strukturi po 10% su dobili i PCP Capital Partners (Amanda Staveley i njen suprug Mehrdad Ghodoussi) i RB Sports & Media (braća Reuben).

Za Chairmana je postavljen Yasir Al-Rumayyan. Trener Steve Bruce je vrlo brzo smenjen dok je na njegovo mesto postavljen Eddie Howe.


To all the fans of Newcastle United Football Club,

Thank you for your incredible support. I am very conscious of the contributions that you all make – on and off the field. Football clubs are driven by their fans. And this Club’s fans are more passionate and more committed than any others. I have seen for myself on many occasions how Newcastle fans have lifted our team.

As we mark the first anniversary of our takeover of the Club, it seemed appropriate to take the time to say thank you – on behalf of the Newcastle Board.

The first game after the takeover will live long in my memory. The feeling of pride at holding the black and white scarf as I entered the stadium. The collective roar of 52,000 of you and the unrivalled, electric atmosphere of St. James’ Park on match-day. I will never forget the warmth of your welcome to my fellow board members and me on that October day.

A year ago, we set out some principles in an open letter that framed our thinking as custodians of the Club. We told you that we wanted to build, over time, a consistently successful team. And we told you that we were focused on long-term success.

There is still a long way to go, but each season is a building block towards our objective – to challenge for trophies both domestically and in Europe. The Club we are building is made up of people who understand our long-term vision, and who understand the patience and persistence that it will take to achieve those goals.

Those values are reflected in the players that we bring to the Club. Bringing the women’s team into direct ownership of the Club is a part of that plan. Progress won’t always be smooth – but we will always forge ahead. You can rest assured that we are all working very hard to drive the Club forward.

The support of our fans and the Newcastle community is an incredible motivation for us. It will never be taken for granted.

Yours, Yasir Al-Rumayyan

photo: TheMag

FULHAM  -  NEWCASTLE UNITED  1 : 4

Prelep dan za Svrake dole u Londonu gde je Newcastle United na suncem okupanom Craven Cottageu pobedio domaćina Fulham rezulatom 1:4. Doduše, Fulham je već od osmog minuta igrao sa igračem manje jer je Nathaniel Chalobah posle grubog starta nad Longstaffom i gledanja VAR-a dobio direktan crveni karton, ali to nije bila naša briga.

Svrake u vođstvo dovodi Callum Wilson u 11. minutu igre kada je glavom sa dva metra pogodio protivničku mrežu. I tu se VAR gledao da li se su Wilson ili Almiron nalazili u ofsajdu ali ništa od toga i na semaforu je pisalo 0:1 za goste iz Newcastlea.

U 33. minutu utakmice Miguel Almiron levom nogom iz desne strane šesnaesterca postiže gol koji se retko viđa, pogodivši desne rašlje Lenoovog gola za 0:2. Asistenciju upisuje Bruno Guimaraes.

Na 0:3 povisuje Sean Longstaff udarcem desnom nogom. Pre gola defanzivac Svraka Sven Botman je odlično uputio udarac glavom ali mu Leno brani udarac i lopta se od stative odbija do Longstaffa, koji sa pet metara loptu šalje u mrežu domaćih u 43. minutu utakmice.

U nastavku igre već u 57. minutu utakmice Joe Willock sa levog boka proigrava Miguela Almirona koji sa četiri metra levom nogom pogađa mrežu domaćih za 0:4, baš ispred Toon Army.

Do kraja meča rezultat je mogao biti i ubedjiviji u korist Newcastle Uniteda ali konačan rezultat 1:4 i utešan gol za Fulham postiže Bobby Decordova-Reid glavom u 88. minutu utakmice. Nick Pope je mogao i bolje da reaguje u toj situaciji.

Vredi napomenuti da je Callum Wilson u prvom poluvremenu pogodio stativu i da su Newcastle Unitedu poništena dva gola zbog ofsajda i to Miguelu Almiron u Ryanau Fraseru, dok je čuvar mreže domaćih Bernd Leno u nekoliko navrata čudesno reagovao odbranivši udarce gostujućim igračima, pre svega Willocku.


Konačan rezultat: 1 : 4


NUFC: Pope, Trippier (Lewis 83), Schar (Lascelles 83), Botman, Burn (Targett 83), S.Longstaff, Guimaraes (Anderson 59), Willock, Almiron, Wilson (Fraser 66), Murphy.
Subs n/u: Karius, Dummett, Joelinton, Wood.

FFC: Leno, Mbabu (Cairney 45+2), Adarabioyo, Ream, Kurzawa (Diop 45+2), Reed, Chalobah, James (Kebano 70), Pereira, Reid, Mitrovic (Carlos Vinicius 37).
Subs n/u: Rodak, Duffy, Harris, Onomah, Parkes.

Sudija: Darren England (Mike Dean u VAR sobi)

Gledalaca: 22,913 (oko 2,300 Toon Army)

P.S.
Posle osam odigranih kola trenutno smo na sedmom mestu na tabeli Premier League sa sakupljenih 11 bodova. Kada se uzme u obzir način na koji smo došli do tri boda protiv Fulhama neki bi rekli da je bilo lako jer je Fulham imao igrača manje preko osamdeset minuta. Međutim, nismo mi krivi zbog toga.

Sledeće subote na našem St James' Parku dočekujemo Brentford i to će biti prava prilika da St James' Parklu vidi novu pobedu svojih ljubimaca.

 photo: dailymail