According to former Leeds and Liverpool winger Harry Kewell, the cold weather in the north-east plays a big part in Newcastle’s ability to sign players.
Somehow, I think weather is not one of the main reasons the likes of Brighton and Bournemouth have beaten us to £20m players over the past few years – and maybe something to do with money, facilities and ambition instead.
Here’s that Kewell – who recently managed Notts County – has had to say about us on Sky Sports:
“The hardest thing for Newcastle is to be able to bring the players there. I know you may say, ‘it’s about the money or something like that’, but the weather as well.
“When you go up there [to Newcastle], it is very cold and players look at that. They do look at that. To be able to drag players up there is very hard. For them to be able to bring players, it is going to be difficult.”
“Drag players up there” ? An incredibly bizarre statement given our stadium, our history, our manager and our city that lives and breathes football.
Kewell was a decent player and he’s had a stab at management over the past few years, but he’s opened himself up for ridicule with comments like this.
Some players prefer London, and I can understand why when you’re on £100,000 a week, but they don’t opt for the capital over Newcastle just because it’s a few degrees warmer..