Newcastle impasse underscored by brazen transfer window statement | Louise Taylor

Steve Bruce broke owner Mike Ashley’s unwritten rule that managers on Tyneside are best seen and not heard

Mike Ashley is often described as brass-necked but behind the brash and brazen exterior Newcastle’s owner can also be extremely thin-skinned. A prime example of this paradox is to be found between the lines of the club’s recent 768-word statement attempting to justify a transfer window featuring one senior signing and a slashing of the wage bill.

“Internally, all parties have long been aware of the budgetary parameters under which we are operating,” went one significant sentence in the unsigned missive to those supporters underwhelmed by the lack of incomings.