While Eddie Howe’s side are thriving, Saudi investment has also led to endless squabbling, moral acrobatics and whatabouteryWhile this week marks the six‑month anniversary of the Newcastle United takeover by a Saudi-led consortium fronted by the minority shareholders Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi, it seems an awful lot longer since images of home fans celebrating with unfettered Geordie abandon outside St James’ Park were first beamed around the world.Signed, sealed and controversially waved through by the Premier League during an international break bookended by defeats for the club against Wolves and Tottenham Hotspur, the change of ownership took place with Newcastle second from bottom of the table, ahead of only Norwich City and with just three points from seven games...
The contents mulls over the same glaring issues and structural dysfunctions as previous reports with one huge differenceFor the many lovers of football who have long campaigned for reforms to the game’s modern mega-commercialisation, the contents of Tracey Crouch’s “fan-led review” are so familiar it manages to be simultaneously agonising and strangely reassuring. It mulls over the same glaring issues and structural dysfunctions as all the previous earnest reports that have piled up since the Football League’s First Division clubs broke away to form the Premier League 29 years ago, and reaches essentially the same conclusions.But there is a huge difference this time, making it a genuine landmark. The review shows politicians have had enough of being fobbed off, and...
Premier League allowing deal shows money and international reputation laundering can trump concerns about the regimeThe great game of football has always been an expression of the country and times in which it is played, so the takeover of Newcastle United by a Saudi Arabian investment fund radiates the widest of reflections about the state that England is in.On the very same day that the prime minister hailed the collapse of the European Super League breakaway as a triumph for our moral sporting values, the Premier League was preparing to approve a fund financed by the super-rich, murderous Saudi state as a fit and proper owner for one of our great clubs. Continue reading...
The travails of the traditional European elite as new money dominated the transfer window suggest things have changedIn times of crisis, the winners are usually the rich. As clubs across Europe continue to struggle against the financial impact of the pandemic, the lesson of this transfer window is that the powerful are mopping up. Or at least they are if they are well-run, which rules out the two Spanish giants and several clubs in Italy.The transfers of the two players who have defined football for a generation understandably generated great excitement, with fans camping out at the airport in Paris to welcome Lionel Messi and queuing round the block to buy a shirt with his name on the back while...
As the Italian parliament debates whether Italy should formally recognise that China is guilty of genocide on its Uyghur citizens, the Chinese state is a part-owner of the Scudetto championsYou might think Liverpool have had an underwhelming Premier League title defence. The mid-season collapse. The failed attempt to join a Super League. The strangely maudlin video address from the club’s owner, delivered in the style of a baffled senior executive apologising for an involuntary bladder malfunction at the company golf day. None of this is ideal.But spare a thought for the reigning Chinese Super League champions, Jiangsu FC, who are nowhere to be seen four games into the new season. Related: Conte overthrows Juve’s kingdom to restore Inter to Serie...