Eddie Howe has delivered some hard home truths to PIF at Newcastle United.
Broadly, the PIF era at Newcastle United has been brilliant.
The Saudi Arabian takeover in 2021 has brought unprecedented success to the club in the modern era and there remains an ambition to push on from here.
However, to pretend there haven’t been frustrations along the way would be foolish.
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Indeed, the Newcastle United owners have been criticised for a lack of genuine updates on a new training ground or a new stadium.
Decision making at executive level also appears to move at glacial speed at times, which serves as another frustration among supporters.
Over the course of the summer, reports suggested that several Newcastle players were starting to doubt PIF’s level of ambition at the club.
It’s all well and good talking about these big plans but they need to be actioned at some point.
Speaking ahead of Boxing Day’s trip to Manchester United, Howe spoke out about it.
Eddie Howe says Newcastle United are currently in limbo under PIF
The Newcastle United manager admitted that the club are in a state of limbo until decisions on both a training ground and a new stadium are made.
While Howe does accept that such huge decisions do take time, he believes that progress on either front could be a game-changer for the club.
“Fundamentally, looking at the club with a broader view, the training ground, the stadium, that part of the club is in limbo at the moment,” he said during his pre-match press conference.
“In terms of which direction the club is going to take, that would be a big step forward to get clarity on that and to take everything into the future in a really positive way.
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“It would have a game-changing effect on everything. I am also talking about the academy in that and the brilliant work that goes on down there.
“If we can move everything forward in terms of facilities – not that I believe facilities are the be all and end all – but they are a great way of setting standards higher and showing your ambition in a really clear and strong way.”
Howe went on to admit that, such is the life of a manager, he may not even be at the club by the time all these plans are put in place.
Still, he cares deeply about the future at the club.
“If there is extra time taken to make the right decisions so the stadium project is correct, and it’s the right one for Newcastle for how ever many years the club are there, then take the extra time,” he added.
“It’s the same with the training ground. You need the right site and designs. I would rather it was correct than rushed.
“I know that there’s a 99.9% chance that I’m not going to see either in my position, but I’m still passionate about making sure it’s there for the future generations of Newcastle, whether that’s supporters or players.”
Why PIF need to listen to what Eddie Howe is saying
Clearly, no one expects Newcastle to announce a new stadium out of nowhere.
It’s a decision that cannot be rushed, but it has become something of a saga for months now, as has Newcastle’s plans for a new training ground.
PIF do have plans to build a new stadium for Newcastle, but the radio silence on either has been very frustrating.
Fans have often heard of soft deadlines on decisions being set, yet they are seemingly always missed.
It feels as if the club have their ceiling in the first phase of the PIF era. It’s currently difficult to see how they can realistically improve on winning a trophy and qualifying for the Champions League on two separate occasions.
There needs to be a commitment to the future. A new stadium would help increase revenue, while a new training ground could perhaps help attract a better standard of player.
PIF have done brilliant work at Newcastle but there’s only so far the current set-up can take them.
Further delays on official communication would only add to the sense that the club are treading water.
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