It’s not gone unnoticed that smaller clubs like Swansea City, Norwich City and West Ham this summer have paid out some big money in the transfer market, unlike Newcastle United.
Mike Ashley – will he loosen the purse strings a bit?
And we think that’s because of the new three year deal the Premier League has cut for the TV rights to the games.
And whereas last season teams got between £40M and £60M, depending on where they finished in the league table and a few other measurements, that figure is between £60M and £100M for the next three years.
In general, teams will be getting about £25M more for the coming season than last year.
Newcastle’s wage bill for the last financial year through June 30th last year, was a bit high and it was £64.1M on revenues (turnover) of £93.3M, so that was 68.7% of revenues.
At the time the results were announced in March, Derek LLambias said Newcastle would be reducing that wage percentage this summer, and we’ve already got Nile Ranger, Danny Simpson, Steve Harper and James Perch off the wage bill, and Dan Gosling will also likely leave this summer, and we’ve brought nobody through the door except 16 year-old Olivier Kemen.
Sending players like Shane Ferguson, James Tavernier and Mehdi Abeid out on loan also helps to reduce the wage bill, and presumably our revenues will be further boosted by the new Wonga deal which is 6M a year for the next four years – the biggest sponsor deal ever signed by the club – and it still seems like peanuts compared to the big clubs in the Premier League.
If Newcastle are to keep wages at say 60% of revenues then it means the wage bill can increase about £12M for next season – and we’re not quite sure why Mike Ashley is continuing to be ultra frugal this summer.
Certainly smaller Premier League clubs than Newcastle aren’t.
We’re not saying we should go crazy, just loosen things up a bit for both the transfer fees and the wages of new players – because of our increased revenues coming in.
What do you think?
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64 comments so far
~Joke-innear~
Jul 31, 2013 at 9:35 AM
Comment #1Yeah, won’t happen.
Offkey
Jul 31, 2013 at 9:36 AM
Comment #2Ed has joined the calculator club. There are a few on here already……………
richyg01
Jul 31, 2013 at 9:36 AM
Comment #3Reports we are back in for Mevlut Erding
Toon73
Jul 31, 2013 at 9:37 AM
Comment #4Dreamland
Toon73
Jul 31, 2013 at 9:40 AM
Comment #5£12m going straight into Ashley’s skyrocket
ToonDarnSarf
Jul 31, 2013 at 9:43 AM
Comment #6If he pockets the £12M, then that’s his right to do so. I’m not going to complain when he’s paying off the interest free loans that he has given the club. That’s a lot better than the multi-million pound salaries that Shepherd and Douglas Hall paid themselves.
jesperfuglsang - captain of the lemon crew
Jul 31, 2013 at 9:43 AM
Comment #7Ed, we should change our policy about a wage cap just because of the new TV money; what will happen when the three years is up and a new maybe less lucrative deal is struck?
…we will be stuck with overpaid players we cannot get rid off.
The wage cap is here to stay – I agree Mike needs to learn the way football works quickly and start finding creative ways to up the transfer fees we are willing to pay.
We are getting no way this way!
toonfan76
Jul 31, 2013 at 9:43 AM
Comment #8Morning fellow toon fans, Just wanted to come on here today and say RIP Sir Bobby Robson, today it is 4 years since we lost one of the greatest men ever to grace our club. Sorely missed. Gone but never forgotten.
Jail for Ashley
Jul 31, 2013 at 9:45 AM
Comment #9TDsarf will choke on his happy shopper cornflakes and powdered milk when he reads this Ed, how dare you spend “the clubs ” money I can hear him stammer.
Toon Avenger
Jul 31, 2013 at 9:46 AM
Comment #10Down sarf
You are a complete mug
richyg01
Jul 31, 2013 at 9:51 AM
Comment #114 years!?
Long live Sir Bobby.
ToonDarnSarf
Jul 31, 2013 at 9:52 AM
Comment #12JfA/Avenger
Don’t be daft. I want him to spend as much as we can afford, I’d rather that MA put in some of his own money as a gift to subsidise transfers in recognition of what a wonderful club he gets to work with.
Shepherd and Hall made millions from our club in terms of salary and then selling shares. And you object to MA wanting to pay off some of the interest free loan he gave the club?
toon kk
Jul 31, 2013 at 9:53 AM
Comment #13This is our stumbling block, penny pinching on wages and for the sake of 1 mill loosing out on our targets. As far as Pardew goes, thats why he has a job because no matter what happens he’ll go along with it. He’s desperate for new signings but if they don’t come he’ll stick up for MA.
Belfast
Jul 31, 2013 at 9:54 AM
Comment #14No chance he’d rather spend it on sports direct signs
Hatem's better than Messi
Jul 31, 2013 at 9:55 AM
Comment #15Let´s hope that the football is better to watch this season.
Last season was dire, I watched every match including preseason, that´s a lot of hours watching Pardew play players out of position and his hoof ball tactics.
Hopefully we can keep the ball on the floor this season although I have no confidence that will happen.
Our transfer targets seem second rate at best.
JFK doing a lousy job of getting them in.
There really isn´t any ambition being shown, why should people buy season tickets?
peasngravy
Jul 31, 2013 at 9:55 AM
Comment #16Well said Toon Fan 76 here here,
The greatest manager we’ve ever had and more than likely ever will, a giant of a man with charisma by the bucket load. RIP Bobby never to be forgotten, true true LEGEND.
RonVanDam
Jul 31, 2013 at 9:56 AM
Comment #17As we add more and more quality players to the club, wage bill will increase but not in the vicinity of L’pool, Spurs etc.
We are a no frills club. Theres a reason we raid the french market. I dont think we will have a player in the next 5 years getting 100k a week.
We are not trying to outspend other clubs, we have a budget that we need to keep to. Other regimes before Mike spent carelessly, MA is more like a car dealer
lesh
Jul 31, 2013 at 9:56 AM
Comment #18Why is Ashley being frugal?
Because good ratios such as payroll to revenue plus no major spend makes the club’s accounts and the balance sheet attractive to potential buyers!
Just a thought…….
LILONGWE, I’ll not post the link but if you look at The Guardian for Tuesday 30 July, its review of Womad, you’ll see that a Malawian band got a mention. Maybe you’ve come across them?
ToonDarnSarf
Jul 31, 2013 at 9:56 AM
Comment #19Please read all of this if you think our previous owners were all sweetness and light, http://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/feb/11/newcastle-united-freddy-shepherd-john-hall:
Some highlights:
– the Hall’s company loaned the club money at 11% interest
– Hall and Shepherd were paid a total of £10M in salaries
– relatives of Hall and Shepherd were hired on 6 figure salaries (yet people object to MA hiring JFK on the basis that he knows him)
– The Halls made £10M selling shares in 1998 and a further £20M later on
– the club paid £1.6 renting warehouse space and houses from Bruce Shepherd’s company and more to other relatives for other things
– The Shepherds and Halls made almost £146M from our club
Have a think about that before you get all hypocritical about the current owners.
Toon Avenger
Jul 31, 2013 at 9:57 AM
Comment #20Down Sarf
Refer to my earlier statement
richyg01
Jul 31, 2013 at 10:00 AM
Comment #21@19
Nice realist approach mate with FACTS also not just some hate campaign like many other fans, built on nothing.
lesh
Jul 31, 2013 at 10:00 AM
Comment #22Jail for Ashley @9.
Joe’ll choke when he reads Ed’s article?
Jail, you’re assuming Joe can read big words, is that safe?
Bearsize
Jul 31, 2013 at 10:00 AM
Comment #23Why spend it when we can give it to a billionaire. Its the right thing to do 😉
ToonDarnSarf
Jul 31, 2013 at 10:01 AM
Comment #24Toon Avenger
Read the article or you are really just a ranting fool who doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
Jail for Ashley
Jul 31, 2013 at 10:02 AM
Comment #25TDsarf,
The meteoric rise in the revenue of SD and the decrease of ours due to his tacky brand which have seen us fall way behind Spurs are payment enough.
TDsarf, I’m not entirely sure what your affilation is with our club but you seem to be a bigger fan of MA than NUFC. You’re not Lord Howell by any chance are you.
criticalsteve73
Jul 31, 2013 at 10:02 AM
Comment #26I would rather have bent than gomis I agree he had a p**s poor season last year but you don’t become that bad over a season plus found it hard to get in over benteke who is now a £25 million player same as bent was. Benteke playing really well meant bent wasn’t getting a game which in turn made things between him and Lambert turn sour. Gomis has no prem experience and will struggle just like the 5 we brought in in January and running out of pre-season games to get him up to speed so I would personally go for a experienced prem player who can get goals given a decent bit service
toonfan76
Jul 31, 2013 at 10:02 AM
Comment #27I think Pardew has been put in a position where the blame for no transfers has been taken away from him. At the same time he has to have the courage to say to Kinnear that we need strengthening and where we need it. I also think that if it’s something that is blatantly obvious like our current lack of striking options, then he should have the courage to voice his concerns publicly and put the pressure firmly with Kinnear. Then we have the problem of weakening our position when it comes to transfers due to the other club knowing that we really need a striker and this hands some of the bargaining power to them. Bit of a catch 22 situation to be honest.
toonarmydownsouth
Jul 31, 2013 at 10:02 AM
Comment #28http://www.football.co.uk/newcastle_united/a_tribute_to_sir_bobby_robson_rss4351747.shtml
Sir bobby, the last true gent in football
R.I.P wor bobby
Offkey
Jul 31, 2013 at 10:03 AM
Comment #29Toondownsarf – Why are you raising this again? Who said it was all good before? …………
How about you read this http://nufc-ashlies.blogspot.co.uk/
Toon Avenger
Jul 31, 2013 at 10:05 AM
Comment #30Down Sarf
I’ve read enough articles posted by Mike Ashley fanboys trying to redeem his terrible ownership in the eyes of the masses and not one thing you can write will ever change the fact that Ashley is destroying this club. Not just financially but in things where money holds no weight, the heart and the soul.
Your continued moronic statements get you neither support or positive acknowledgment from true fans and anyone who strives to present you with verbal kudos is too far removed from reality to be regarded as a true fan.
In conclusion I shall say something that has been said before on this blog before. ‘Stalin wasn’t good because Hitler was worse’.
ToonDarnSarf
Jul 31, 2013 at 10:06 AM
Comment #31richyg01
Thank you. I’m astounded that some people want to surround our club with hate. And they wonder why fans of other clubs find us to easy to have a go at, we are constantly having a go at ourselves!
I’m not saying the current owner is perfect, and he’s obviously made some big mistakes but when I consider the previous owners:
– made huge money from us including 11% interest on loans
– insulted our fans (remember them laughing at how cheap the shirts were to make), Geordie women, Alan Shearer and others
– consistently signed rubbish players on huge wages and with huge salaries
– hired several rubbish managers
AND…worst of all…and most poignant on this particular day, they sacked Bobby Robson! He was the best manager that we had in living memory and we sacked him because we finished 5th???
ToonDarnSarf
Jul 31, 2013 at 10:08 AM
Comment #32JfA
Er…we were already falling behind Spurs when MA took over. Then we got relegated which has set us back massively. You know my thoughts that MA should never have appointed KK and it was just a foolish gesture to the fans, but it wasn’t exactly MA’s intention to get us relegated!
Toon-Prodigy
Jul 31, 2013 at 10:09 AM
Comment #33I think the money clubs will get in the future will only increase.
The Premier League is big big business. I can’t see it ever going backwards.
Personally, I think we should be pushing on and keeping with the times. Dear me, if Swansea can do it there is no reason we can’t surely. We turn over more and have no debt now.
Nothing mental, just move with the times. Open up our structure a bit. It’s been painful watching them penny pinch each window while we levelled the books and for the life of me I can’t think of any reason now to do business in such a manner.
It’s time to roll.
It’s about time he realised he is not bidding for a hard up clothes franchise.
This is football and if we stand still we suffer.
Get the dollars out!
Toon Avenger
Jul 31, 2013 at 10:11 AM
Comment #34richy
Who are you to speak?
You’re just a new blogger who posts links to other people’s work without contributing much e,se other than to brown nose people you think are right.
Formulate opinions, post structured arguments and give something to the blog that people can appreciate.
ToonDarnSarf
Jul 31, 2013 at 10:11 AM
Comment #35Offkey
Well, were people always going on about our previous owners? It just bugs me that people are constantly complaining about wanting something more. If we were in the CL then there would be people complaining that we’re not making a push for the title…
And that article is so biased and full of gaping holes, that I gave up pretty quickly
Belfast
Jul 31, 2013 at 10:13 AM
Comment #36Think the club pulls in far more money now days than it did under Shepherd and Hall to be fair to them. The tv money for a start is much higher.
Belfast
Jul 31, 2013 at 10:15 AM
Comment #37Certainly far easier to manage debt when you’ve got that money going into the club every season.
Toon Avenger
Jul 31, 2013 at 10:16 AM
Comment #38Down Sarf
You are obviously either a troll, haven’t supported nufc long or sit in your armchair down in Croydon or wherever it is, to do your supporting.
To ask a question if the fans were like this to the previous owners is a undeniable indication of your complete lack of knowledge and understanding about nufc.
And as for the CL statement, that shows you pr complete lack of knowledge about football in general.
toonarmydownsouth
Jul 31, 2013 at 10:16 AM
Comment #39Oh joy the MA debate again
The blokes a w@nker, he’s tearing the soul out of this club, breaking up the once famous atmosphere at the hallowed SJP
And worst of all is showing absolutely zero ambition to push this club forward on or off the pitch
He has about as much interest in seeing the club competing at the highest levels as I do in hearing another accounting report ffs
Jail for Ashley
Jul 31, 2013 at 10:18 AM
Comment #40TDsarf,
We took one point from the PL worst ever team and were plahing sh!te under FS a team in free fall with a real danger of going down just because the fans wanted KK it doesn’t mean Ashley bowed down he knew under KK we’d avoid the drop, however he didn’t want KK there so immediately set out to undermine him at every chance, it certainly wasn’t Mikeys wish to have us relegated but his idiotic decision making was a huge factor in our relegation and increased 40M debt.