Former boss Graeme Souness has warned our potential new owners that it will be very difficult to attract players may not be attracted to the North East of England.
Grumpy Graeme as I like to call him, is notorious for always putting a downer on things, and he has cited the modern day player and their preference for a move to London as a concern for us going forward.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Souness said:
“As always, it’ll come down to what players they can attract there,”
“If they get a big budget to work with, I still think attracting them up to Newcastle will be difficult unless you pay them way beyond the going rate.
“As has been the case for a long time, Newcastle have had to pay a premium to get good players to go up there.
“Would the very best go up there? I’m not sure.
“I got back to my time as a player and nobody wanted to play for a London club, we weren’t on the dosh that would allow you to shop in Harrods most days and live in a Kinsighton area.
“No one wanted to go anywhere near London, that’s all changed now because of the money the players get today they can afford the very best that is on offer down there.
“I think attracting the very best will be difficult going forward and as always there will be a premium to attract good players up there.”
This is something us Toon fans have had to hear in the past, but whether it is believable is another topic of debate.
The two biggest clubs in England are Manchester United and Liverpool, with both clubs never struggling to attract players and funnily enough, are both in the North.
Did Souness fire the same criticism at Manchester City when they got taken over? They had to pay a premium, yes, but that was down to current league standing rather than geographical location.
I might be biased in my opinion here, but Newcastle is one of the best cities in the country. No Toon fan even has to tell this to a foreign player who may be weighing up his options, just tell them to contact a David Ginola Tino Asprilla, a Laurent Robert or a Jonas Gutierrez – just a select few of the foreign players who have excelled and enjoyed their time on Tyneside.
Souness is talking nonsense once again.
rubbish manager with rubbish comment. !
t gibson(Quote)
Graeme Souness is clueless, hes the manager that managed to buy the league in Scotland all those years ago. Money talks. It seems all the gobshites dont want a northern powerhouse.
Oliveroll(Quote)
I’ve heard Newcastle will be the new UK capital and the Saudis have bought London and are set to just close it down. HWTL 😛 😛 😛 😛
Brian(Quote)
If it becomes a massive problem, move the training ground to London and only play the home games in Newcastle – problem solved.
T(Quote)
Keegan had no problem, Sir Bobby had no problem! Souness is a *****, nobody wanted to come to the toon to play for him! That was the problem!!!
Toonloony(Quote)
Graeme who?
Brillo(Quote)
Souness or Sourness was… A Nasty Player… A Nasty Manager, And now he’s a
Nasty Pundit. So nothing new coming from his Nasty Big Mouth.
EIGOR MACKENZIE(Quote)
And which big name players did he sign apart from the greedy ba5tard Owen……..none/zilch/nobody
But Keegan had no problems bringing in big signings because he had style & charisma something the dour Scotsman lacks
rosco(Quote)
Alan(Quote)
Too loony. Is spot on. And the players that go to Scotland now are in there late 30 or 40 ready for the scarpheap
Alan(Quote)
What an absolute load of nonsense, why give this guy any air time? Players are flocking to China to play in a **** league, to take better wages. I think Newcastle will have their pick of players, when the deal is done.
Howay the lads!!!
Dee(Quote)
Whatever souness says smells like a fart which tells you all you need to know about this nobheed.
Peter henderson(Quote)