My question is, who is in charge at Newcastle United?
A question I will try to answer below.
I suppose my real point, my real question, is who is driving Newcastle United forward?
Down below I have detailed a timeline of how the Newcastle United owners appear to have operated the club.
How the NUFC hierarchy has looked from day one, from when the Newcastle United takeover happened more than four years and nine months ago, right up to the present day.
The people that the Newcastle United owners have had in place in the paid key positions at the top of the club.
Newcastle United Takeover – 7 October 2021
Amanda Staveley put in place running the club on behalf of the owners.
Eddie Howe appointed – 8 November 2021
Amanda Staveley running the club, Eddie Howe manager after sacking of Steve Bruce.
Nick Hammond appointed – November 2021
Amanda Staveley running the club, Nick Hammond appointed as Interim Transfer Consultant on short-term deal until end of January 2022, no CEO, no Sporting Director, Eddie Howe manager
Nick Hammond leaves – February 2022
Amanda Staveley running the club, no CEO, no Sporting Director, Eddie Howe manager
Dan Ashworth appointed – May 2022
Amanda Staveley running the club, no CEO, Dan Ashworth as Sporting Director, Eddie Howe manager
Darren Eales appointed – 15 July 2022
Amanda Staveley employed to help run the club on a management contract, Darren Eales as CEO, Dan Ashworth as Sporting Director, Eddie Howe manager
Dan Ashworth put on gardening leave as tells the club he wants to join Man U – 19 February 2024
Amanda Staveley employed to help run the club on a management contract, Darren Eales as CEO, no Sporting Director, Eddie Howe manager
Amanda Staveley leaves as club owners end her management contract to help run the club – July 2024
Darren Eales as CEO, no Sporting Director, Eddie Howe manager
Paul Mitchell appointed – 4 July 2024
Darren Eales as CEO, Paul Mitchell as Sporting Director (Dan Ashworth officially leaves as Man U agree compensation), Eddie Howe manager
Announced Darren Eales will be leaving ASAP due to ill health, once new Sporting Director appointed – 27 September 2024
Darren Eales as CEO, Paul Mitchell as Sporting Director, Eddie Howe manager
Announced Paul Mitchell is leaving – 27 May 2025
Effectively no CEO, Effectively no Sporting Director, Eddie Howe manager
Announced Darren Eales has now officially left – 4 September 2025
No CEO, no Sporting Director, Eddie Howe manager
David Hopkinson appointed – 5 September 2025
David Hopkinson as CEO, no Sporting Director, Eddie Howe manager
Ross Wilson appointed – 11 October 2025
David Hopkinson as CEO, Ross Wilson as Sporting Director, Eddie Howe manager
My conclusions
We are less than three months away from celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Newcastle United takeover.
In my opinion, it is Eddie Howe who has been the one constant, the key person who has held this club together. I dread to think what would have happened without him.
Everybody is entitled to their own opinion but I find it beyond belief that a section of the fanbase are wanting to blame Eddie Howe, as though he is the one holding Newcastle United back! The reality is the exact opposite of this, Eddie Howe is the one who has stopped the club becoming a total shambles. In my opinion.
It has been a constant churn at the top of the club (when it comes to paid employees), as those in the key positions running the club on the business side, separate from Eddie Howe and the football side, has been a story of chaos and change. So much uncertainty and lack of proper leadership in those key positions.
My belief is that there have been some less than ideal appointments and that you can only hope with David Hopkinson and Ross Wilson in place, the Newcastle United owners finally have the right appointments.
That only goes so far though…
My question at the start was who is driving Newcastle United forward as a club, at the very top, way above who is in charge of team affairs?
It is often described as a “Project” but what is the overall plan? Indeed, is there even a plan at all?
When the Manchester City takeover happened in 2008 there appeared to be a plan from the very start and people in place to drive it forward. As well as those employed in key positions, there was clearly a very hands on approach from the new ownership that was fully committed to pushing the club forward in every way.
We watched on as the new Man City owners threw crazy amounts of cash to recruit players year on year, but they also from the very start appeared to do the same off the pitch. Putting in serious investment as part of an overall strategy, with key paid employees given the freedom to push on ahead with the commercial side of the club and the infrastructure, working alongside representatives of the Qatari ownership.
The end of last season saw the latest phase of stadium development completed and the Etihad now has a capacity of around 62,000.
The Manchester City owners signed an agreement with Manchester City Council in March 2010 to allow a £1 billion redevelopment and they have continually worked on the regeneration of large parts of the city, not just the stadium.
None of us know exactly what is going on behind the scenes at Newcastle United, in the corridors of power. However, I find it very difficult to believe that there is the same drive and willingness to invest as there was at Manchester City.
Judging by what we see, what is widely reported, the visits by Yasir Al-Rumayyan and others representing the Saudi Arabia PIF feel almost like a royal visit, rather than part of a dynamic fast moving on the up football club operation that is destined to be “Number One” (Yasir Al-Rumayyan) and be “Competing for all major trophies by 2030 (David Hopkinson).
Each PIF visit to Tyneside, especially the yearly ones that happen towards the end of each season, it is reported that senior employees have done major project presentations for Yasir Al-Rumayyan and others from the ownership group, whether to do with a new training ground, a new stadium, whatever. Then nothing. The following visit seeing more of the same.
We can only go on what we can see and what we see is a few quid spent on the current stadium and training ground that doesn’t feel remotely close to a game changer for Newcastle United.
When the latest visit happened in April 2026, meetings at Matfen Hall etc etc. It was widely reported that Yasir Al-Rumayyan had arrived on Tyneside as head of a very large Saudi Arabia PIF delegation, 30 people I think was the number widely quoted. Only weeks later the new 2026/27 home kit was launched and Newcastle United didn’t even have a front of shirt sponsor in place.
Source: Footy Headlines
How does all of this add up to Newcastle United pushing forward to be “Number One” when Saudi Arabia PIF can’t even provide a £25m per season sponsor? What was the point of the 30 strong PIF delegation, who are they and what are they doing to make Newcastle United a massive success? It actually feels more like our club are in reverse, rather than pushing forward. The PIF owned Sela had provided a modest £25m a year sponsorship for three years and then nothing. Belatedly a deal was scraped together with KNOX (not a PIF owned business) after the launch of the2026/27 home shirt, a sponsorship deal that will inject less money into Newcastle United than the Sela one did.
The takeover at Manchester City was completed in September 2008 after the season had already kicked off and whatever sponsorship deals long in place. It only took until May 2009 for Manchester City to be announcing a huge Etihad Airways (who are also state owned) sponsorship deal and to this day 17 years later they remain both stadium and front of shirt sponsor, pumping untold riches into Manchester City.
Where do we go from here?
I don’t think it is all doom and gloom and my belief is that by the time Newcastle United have completed their summer 2026 transfer activity, we will all have far more cause to believe the 2026/27 season can be a relative success compared to how the fanbase generally feels at the moment.
At the same time though, talk of competing for all trophies by 2030 and Newcastle United becoming the number one club in the future, my feeling is that nobody at the club should be coming out with this kind of nonsense until we have any visible signs of how this could actually happen. What the plan is and here is when X, Y and Z are going to be in place.
Stadium plans revealed, state of the art training ground plans made public, planning permissions applied for and then in place, huge coordinated sponsorships as part of a massive commercial revenue drive.
For all this to happen though, who is going to be driving it forward?
I find it very difficult to believe that Newcastle United can become another Manchester City, unless we have the club’s owners with a far more hands on approach.
It isn’t reasonable to believe that Yasir Al-Rumayyan can be that person, he is Governor of PIF and has responsibility for countless investments both in Saudi and around the world. He will of course no doubt remain Chairman of Newcastle United, the figurehead.
However, there are other Saudi Arabia PIF directors on the board at Newcastle United and no reason why one or more of them, or other big hitters representing PIF, can’t be based in the UK and be very hands on at NUFC, working alongside the likes of the CEO and Sporting Director.
Until we see any evidence of a believable plan to make Newcastle United reach its potential AND powerful people in place to push it forward, my feeling is that I will just accept that what we have currently is how it is going to be and take any relative positives that come along.