10 Jul 2026 09:11:02
Newcastle picking up Steur and Manzambi (nearly done) for £75m is great business.
10 Jul 2026 09:23:29
Well, they need to do something.. they've basically lost their midfield with Tonali gone and Bruno about to go.
Must be a bit annoying, being a Toon fan, you've lost Anderson due to FFP, Tonali, Gordon, Isak gone, Bruno just about to go.. they are not going to be competing for anything. Howe, I think, will be sacked at some point.
10 Jul 2026 09:30:41
Must be infuriating for clubs like Villa and Newcastle etc, who have performed well the last few seasons and have extremely rich owners, but have to sell whilst watching clubs like Spurs, Chelsea and Utd drop billions despite not being better on the pitch.
10 Jul 2026 10:09:39
To be fair, if Newcastle end the window having replaced Gordon with Toure, Tonali with Stiller, and Guimares with Manzambi, and bank an additional £100m into the bargain, that's a decent window!
Don't know anything about the young Dutch fella, but I don't think there's much of a drop off in ability with those trades.
Newcastle have to accept being "the biggest club that young players go to and move on for big bucks in a few seasons" for a few years before they'll be ready for the big boys table.
10 Jul 2026 10:10:17
The thing is that those other clubs have the infrastructure in place to allow them to spend billions. These rich owners should be investing longterm in the club. Improving the facilities, expanding the stadium and developing the local area to make those clubs more appealing and grow them naturally rather than trying to buy instant success.
The system may not be great, but it is there to protect these clubs from rich owners getting bored and withdrawing all of their money overnight and leaving the club to go into administration. Would you rather have to sell some players until the club naturally grows or run the risk of the club not existing next season?
10 Jul 2026 10:29:31
Shipley, I suppose it depends who you ask, mate.
Spurs bought a new stadium in fairness, but last time I checked Utd are in half a billion debt trying to get the government to fund their new stadium, and Chelsea haven't done anything to develop local area apart from launder their hotels and haven't increased the stadium.
I'm not sure how Villa get back to back CL places and have to continue to sell.
10 Jul 2026 10:45:11
I hear you, @JK, but that doesn't change the fact that the 'big 6' are huge global brands with phenomenal turnover, as well as supporters all round the world. The only Newcastle fans outside of Newcastle tend to be the ones that moved out of the city.
10 Jul 2026 11:02:06
Howe won't last till Christmas.
Howe, you ask? He will be sacked, that's Howe.
10 Jul 2026 11:14:24
I am not sure the owners want to put money into Newcastle Football Club and haven't done so for a while. If anything, they are behaving like they are looking to get out.
10 Jul 2026 11:29:45
JK23 - Chelsea have done relatively little to help themselves since Abramovich went, other than look for every loophole they can to try and arrest their slide back to what they were before 2003: an average London club fully in the shadow of Arsenal.
Only Abramovich's money stopped them being that. Newcastle have a lot more potential if they do it right.
10 Jul 2026 11:37:25
Shipley again, get you mate, but these big 6 teams also have some of the biggest illegal streaming support in the world. So don't get any more financial benefit from it, and as far as merchandise goes they can likely get it far cheaper as fake (not judging, I take my son Turkey every October and clean the shops out).
Having more fans globally shouldn't be a sole reason to stagnate a club.
According to the internet Liverpool have an estimated 500 million plus global following and Villa have 20 million. No infa or stadium improvements are going to get Villa 480 million more fans.
So basically it's saying Villa know your place, you will never ever challenge in this PL.
10 Jul 2026 11:40:37
Fly, it looks that way, mate.
Lowe, I agree, mate, yet they continue to get away with these loop holes and spend.
What is doing it right? How do you grow a fan base by a few hundred million people?
What was it about these successful super clubs that fans decided to support globally?
10 Jul 2026 12:21:56
Don't forget they had Minteh as well, but had to sell him to Brighton. Steur is raw, but seen as a huge talent along with Kees Smit in Holland.