Even though the 2015 summer transfer window officially opens on 1st July, many teams have already given themselves a head start against their competitors. Recently, we have already seen Liverpool sign the Brazilian, Firmino for a fee over £21m, whilst Arsenal have managed to prise Petr Cech away from rivals Chelsea for a fee of £10.9m.
However, one team that are still stuck in the blocks are Newcastle United, where any pursuit on any player seems to be very passive at least. The first ever televised interview with the owner of the club, Mike Ashley, filled every supporter with hope that he finally come to the realisation that he needs to plug money into the club in terms of player recruitment, in order to retain the club’s significantly strong following as well as to have stability in England’s top division. It can’t be denied that Ashley only sees the club as a financial gain, but in order to reap rewards from the club, staying in the top division and maintaining crowds that generally pass 50,000 most match days is essential for that to continue.
The interview indicated how worried Ashley now is of supporters finally losing patience with the lack of investment and success and their undoubted loyalty finally not being enough for them to spend the hundreds of pounds they do each year on the club. And this is evident in the significant drop in season ticket renewals for the 2015/16 season, which was responded by the club sending letters and emails to lapsed season ticket holders. Ashley had to make a bold statement and promised a summer of heavy investment and insisted he would not leave until the club either win a trophy or qualify for the Champions League. Nevertheless, words are empty unless they are filled with genuine ambition and the Toon Army will not take anything for granted until they witness players actually coming into the Benton training ground.
No signings does not necessarily mean anything but it is now two weeks since Steve McClaren’s appointment,and there has not even been any news on his backroom staff and no further word from the manager. So far, we have only seen Newcastle lurking around the uncertainty of Charlie Austin’s future, but they are flailing at the idea of having to fork out more money than they believe he is valued, which will inevitably see another club capitalise. This has been the recurring story for Newcastle in the transfer market in recent years: missing out on their top targets simply because they would not spend a penny more than they would want.
If the story still continues during this summer, it will be hard for Ashley to ever gain the supporters’ already limited trust back as this does seem to be the last chance saloon. Also without a visible improvement in the squad, the club will also lose a considerable amount of match day revenue. If Newcastle limp through to September with nothing barring the bare minimum, his words will look hollow indeed. It’s difficult to see trust ever being rebuilt until Ashley’s promises are fulfilled.
