The Mag

Next Saturday is looking interesting, Alexander Isak and his Newcastle United teammates set to play away at Spurs.

I know we have Man U away on Monday night to come first.

However, the news coming out of Spurs is undoubtedly encouraging ahead of next weekend.

A defensive crisis that is ever worsening for Tottenham ahead of their home match against Wolves tomorrow (Sunday), before then Newcastle United six days after that…

Official Premier League site report on Tottenham defensive crisis – 27 December 2024:

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou is dealing with an injury crisis, with a number of central defenders set to miss their next match against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

First-choice pairing Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are long-term absentees after both were injured in their first match back from injury this month against Chelsea and have missed Spurs’ last four matches in all competitions.

Ben Davies has suffered a setback and is out for another couple of weeks, while Radu Dragusin was forced off in the loss at Nottingham Forest.

“It’s a bit early to tell, he tweaked his ankle and felt like he couldn’t continue, so we’ll have to wait and see,” Postecoglou said when asked about Dragusin in his pre-match press conference. “We’ll wait until he gets in [for training] today.”

When asked on his defensive options Postecoglou replied: “Not many. We are in a tough spot. We have been for a while.

“We have been kind of getting through it for quite a while now and keeping our fingers crossed we don’t get any more issues.

“It is the nature of football and the fixture scheduling we have had, which means we have always been on a fine line of trying to get through. It is another test for us, but it is what it is. Whatever we need to deal with, we will deal with and be ready for Sunday.”

Who could Spurs play at centre-back?

Spurs’ 18-year-old versatile midfielder Archie Gray has been filling in at centre-back, starting the past five matches across all competitions there.

Dragusin has been partnering Gray but if he is out, then 19-year-old Alfie Dorrington may make a full Premier League debut. He has made one appearance in the competition after being part of Spurs’ Premier League 2-winning team of 2023/24.

Midfielder Yves Bissouma ended the match against Forest at centre-back and when Postecoglou was asked whether he would start there, he replied: “I don’t know. I mean Yves has never played there so I am not sure why I would put him there.

“I had to put him there last night because I had no one else, but we’ll see. We’ll see what happens.”

Newcastle United have won their last four matches in domestic competition, whilst they have scored 19 goals in their last six games in Premier League and Carabao Cup, Alexander Isak with seven goals in these last half dozen matches.

Spurs have lost four of their last six domestic matches, the only exceptions a win at rock bottom Southampton and a chaotic 4-3 cup victory over a woeful Man U side, Tottenham doing their best to throw away a 3-0 lead. Whilst Spurs have conceded 15 goals in their last five games in the Premier League and Carabao Cup, conceding an incredible 13 goals in their last three home matches!

Obviously Newcastle United will still have to play well if they can hope to defeat Spurs next Saturday, however, the defensive issues for Tottenham are clearly a serious issue for them and their last four home Premier League matches have seen three defeats (including losing 2-1 to Ipswich) and a draw, whilst conceding 13 goals.

Former NUFC keeper Fraser Forster hasn’t exactly helped Spurs in recent matches, adding to their defensive chaos, with first choice keeper Vicario long-term injured. Richarlison is another player who is currently out for Spurs.

Newcastle United have their own injuries and suspensions to deal with but nice to see some favourable factors appearing to help NUFC in this run of away fixtures.

Fernandes and Ugarte suspended for Man U on Monday night, this Spurs defensive injury crisis ahead of next weekend, whilst Mikel Arteta has now revealed that their best and most dangerous player, Bukayo Saka, has had surgery and will miss both legs of the Carabao Cup semi-final.

Newcastle United upcoming matches:

Monday 30 December – Man U v Newcastle (8pm) Sky Sports

Saturday 4 January – Tottenham v Newcastle (12.30pm) TNT Sports

Tuesday 7 January – Arsenal v Newcastle (8pm) Sky Sports and ITV1 and ITVX

Sunday 12 January – Newcastle v Bromley (3pm) BBC iPlayer (FA Cup)

Wednesday 15 January – Newcastle v Wolves (7.30pm) TNT Sports

Saturday 18 January – Newcastle v Bournemouth (12.30pm) TNT Sports

Saturday 25 January – Southampton v Newcastle (3pm)

Saturday 1 February – Newcastle v Fulham (3pm)

Wednesday 5 February – Newcastle v Arsenal (8pm) Sky Sports

Saturday 15 February – Man City v Newcastle (3pm)

For Newcastle United to get three points against Spurs after such a poor home display, actually beggared belief.

Saying that, the two goals we did score by the Barnestormer and the Rolls Royce, were both sublime in their build up and execution.

Eddie Howe started with both Harvey Barnes and Anthony Gordon and I really liked the look of the side before kick-off.

I would have preferred Sandro Tonali in midfield ahead of Sean Longstaff but our manager sees these players every day in training and I don’t.

Before the game I had stated on The Mag that I didn’t have any qualms regarding our goalkeeping department. Yet against Spurs, Nick Pope had the demeanor of a man with a nervous disposition.

He made a couple of decent stops that I would have expected him to save anyway. Spurs’ equaliser though was very much a case of poor judgement, as Pope decided to parry the ball straight to the feet of Spurs substitute Brennan Johnson.

As the North London side began piling forward and the Toon’s midfield and rearguard continually made mistakes and gifted them the ball, all I could see coming was a second Tottenham goal.

Wor Graeme, Neale and Bernie were at St James’ Park (and Neale had dropped the Independent North Shields Supporters Association £3+ Grand charity jackpot on Saturday),

I was with Auld Ellas in Tynemouth Club and as the game wore on, the atmosphere was tense to say the least. No one was having a go at the team, but it was obvious that the locals were confused, as to why we were playing so deep and without any collective cohesion.

I often worry that Bruno Guimaraes takes a touch or two too many. When Sandro Tonali entered the fray he is the total opposite, prefers to zip the ball away to feet with the utmost precision.

With our backs to the wall it needed someone to grab the bull by the horns and who better than our strapping samba star Joelinton.

Picking the ball up midway in our own half on the left, he jinked inside and took the ball away from his marker so that he was in a central position and facing towards the Spurs goal.

With our forwards holding their line perfectly, Joelinton then found the inch perfect pass to split Tottenham’s high line.

Jacob Murphy, who had come on for Barnes, was away and as he entered the 18 yard box, he unselfishly laid the ball across for Alexander Isak to nudge in his first of the season.

I could hardly believe it after the way we had been playing. The club erupted and you could almost hear the collective sighs of relief as we all gathered our glasses to take a sip and gather our composure.

After the game finished I went hyem and reflected on what I had just watched. I came to the conclusion that we were bloody lucky BUT should finish above a tactically naive Spurs this season.

We are unbeaten so far at the beginning of this 2024/25 EPL season (two home wins and an away draw) and have knocked our Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest out of the Carabao Cup at the City Ground.

We have hardly got out of second gear in doing so and for once I’m going to welcome an international break.

Before I retreated to bed, I couldn’t get the Joboxers 1983 hit ‘Just got Lucky’ out of my head.

I was then informed that Wor Neale had left a substantial dropsy for me behind the bar at the Club.

Thank you bonnie lad, you are always there for me and I’ll see you on Saturday for Ma’s send off.

Newcastle 2 Tottenham 1 – Sunday 1 September 1.30pm

(Stats via BBC Sport)

Goals:

Newcastle United:

Barnes 37, Isak 78

Spurs:

Burn OG 56

Possession was Newcastle 34% Spurs 66%

Total shots were Newcastle 9 Spurs 20

Shots on target were Newcastle 3 Spurs 6

Corners were Newcastle 7 Spurs 12

Touches in the box Newcastle 14 Spurs 49

Newcastle United team v Tottenham:

Pope, Livramento, Krafth, Burn, Kelly (Hall 68), Joelinton, Bruno, Longstaff (Tonali 68), Barnes (Jacob Murphy 61), Isak, Gordon (Almiron 90+4)

Unused subs:

Dubravka, Trippier, Targett, Osula, Alex Murphy

(Match Report – I can think of worse ways to sign off your summer than beating Spurs… Read HERE)

(Newcastle 2 Tottenham 1 – Instant Newcastle United fan / writer reaction – Read HERE)

(BBC Sport comments from ‘neutrals’ – Interesting on Newcastle United after win over Tottenham – Read HERE)

Newcastle United schedule to end of October 2024:

(The first international break of the season)

Sunday 15 September 2024 – Wolves v Newcastle (4.30 pm) Sky Sports

Weeks commencing Monday 16 September AND Monday 23 September – Carabao Cup round three (This round split over two midweeks)

Saturday 21 September 2024 – Fulham v Newcastle (3 pm)

Weeks commencing Monday 16 September AND Monday 23 September – Carabao Cup round three (This round split over two midweeks)

Saturday 28 September 2024 – Newcastle v Man City (12.30 pm) TNT Sports

Saturday 5 October – Everton v Newcastle (5.30pm) Sky Sports

Saturday 19 October – Newcastle v Brighton (3pm)

Well there you have it.

What used to be the annual Sky Sports transfer extravaganza, was all over again by 11pm.

The days of Jim White seem long gone, not that these days were ever enjoyable for long suffering Newcastle United fans under Mike Ashley.

Marc Guehi didn’t make the switch from Selhurst Park in South London to the much bigger park at St James’ in Newcastle. Leading up to the final day of the window, I think we all knew that this deal was a dead duck anyway.

Crystal Palace’s noisy fans rejoiced that “their Marc” will now get a move to a much ‘bigger’ club in the future, even though Marc Guehi will go for a hell of a lot less than what we were offering. Talk about knowing your place and being lackies to the Premier League Septic Six eh?

For what it’s worth, I 100% don’t think we will ever now see Marc Guehi wear our famous black and white stripes.

We now move on to the biggest game of of our opening three Premier League fixtures.

On Sunday we will entertain visitors Tottenham Hotspur, who just like us have aspirations and ambitions of a possible Champions League place.

I think this fixture is going to be a lot closer than it has been in the previous two seasons. They resulted in 6-1 and 4-0 thrashings of Spurs of course.

When it comes to the Newcastle team v Tottenham, I would like Eddie to start with both Flash (Anthony Gordon) and the Barnestormer (Harvey Barnes) in this game.

Our very own Rolls Royce Alexander Isak is due a goal and I’m backing him to open his account for the season against Spurs.

I am sure that Eddie will go with a midfield three of Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton. He’ll get no complaints from me if he does.

The back four is more difficult to predict but I’m going to stick my neck out and say Eddie might go with Tino Livramento, Emil Krafth, Dan Burn and Lloyd Kelly.

That would leave Lewis Hall on the bench. ready to come on and bolster our left side if need be.

I would like to see Nick Pope be a little bit more commanding when dealing with crosses and set-pieces, but all in all, I’m happy with the goalkeeping situation.

It will be a handy tactic if Gordon and Barnes can frequently switch from left to right and vice versa. They are both two footed footballers, capable of going down the outside or cutting in on either channel.

I’m not sure about Spurs or their manager Ange Postecoglou if I’m honest. Spurs have been a puzzle to me for years and often flatter to deceive.

They are coming off the back of a 4-0 win against a hapless (or should that be hopeless) Everton side at the impressive Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Now that all the pre and early season dust is settling, the silly rumours have ended, and the summer transfer window is closed, I suddenly feel much more relaxed.

I still reckon we’re a canny team and nailed on for the top six. I haven’t been that impressed by what our rivals have done in the transfer window either, although most of them have been busier than us.

I’m going to go for a 2-1 Newcastle United win on Sunday with ‘Ice Cold’ Alex bagging a brace.

Enjoy the weekend.

There has been a new ‘exclusive’ published, an ‘update’ on former Newcastle United minority shareholder Amanda Staveley, set to potentially buy a minority share in Tottenham.

Interesting to look into this ‘exclusive’ a little closer…

For some time Spurs have been said to be looking for another investor to come in.

However, does this update have any credibility?

The Sun ‘Exclusive’ – 24 August 2024:

‘Amanda Staveley wants to buy stake in Tottenham with ex-Newcastle co-owner backed by ‘serious money’ from Middle East

Businesswoman wouldn’t have to give up Toon holding either thanks to little-know rule

Amanda Staveley is stepping up a bid to buy into Tottenham.

Sources say the former Newcastle co-owner is backed by “serious money” from the Middle East and wealthy individuals.

Tottenham are valued at £2.42billion by global media company Forbes.

And a deal for 25 per cent of the club could cost Staveley about £650m.

Spurs are open to investment and there would not even be a need for Staveley to dispose of her Newcastle shares first.

Her holding at St James’ Park is under the 9.9 per cent limit for having a stake in TWO clubs.’

This looks very much just a simple barely disguised rehash of the story we covered seven weeks ago (see below), when Bloomberg reported in mid-July that Amanda Staveley could be the public face of investors willing to buy a chunk of Tottenham.

However, the only part of this ‘exclusive’ above that bears any kind of supposed new information, is that Amanda Staveley could keep her Newcastle United shareholding AND own shares in Tottenham.

The only ‘slight’ problem with this new ‘exclusive’ information, is that as was well publicised last month, the Amanda Staveley Newcastle United shareholding no longer is a factor. Her shareholding was taken by the other two shareholders and now Saudi Arabia PIF own 85% of Newcastle United, the Reuben family 15%.

The Mag report – 18 July 2024:

‘It is now reported that Amanda Staveley is looking to lead an investment in another Premier League club.

This follows Friday’s announcement that she is cutting all ties with Newcastle United.

It is stated now that Amanda Staveley has raised half a billion through backers.

The exclusive from Bloomberg (see below) says that the Premier League club targeted in particular is Tottenham, with initial talks claimed to have taken place with an adviser to Spurs, to buy an initial minority stake in the London club.

Bloomberg report – 18 July 2024:

‘Amanda Staveley, who has stepped down from the board of Newcastle United, is searching for her next football investment, with stakes in Tottenham Hotspur among the possible targets she’s exploring.

Staveley has recently raised about £500 million ($649 million) through her investment fund PCP Capital Partners and has been looking at a number of football clubs to deploy the cash, according to a person familiar with the matter. It’s unclear who the backers are. Staveley is well-connected in the Gulf region.

Tottenham Hotspur, which came fifth in the last Premier League season, is one of the clubs on Staveley’s radar. She has held initial discussions to buy a minority stake with Rothschild & Co., an adviser to Tottenham, the person said. A deal, if any, is likely to involve convertible preference shares, the person said. Other potential targets being studied include AS Monaco, which compete in Ligue 1, the top tier of French football, the person said, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.’

In 33 days time, Newcastle United meet Tottenham in their third Premier League fixture of the season.

Newcastle fans hoping to see Eddie Howe carry on his St James’ Park form against the North London club, 6-1 and 4-0 these past two seasons in the same fixture.

However, an interesting off the pitch story ahead of that match.

Well actually two stories in the media which can be very much linked.

On Monday, Bloomberg ran a report (see below) that informed us that Newcastle United now had a valuation of more than £1billion.

Some people cast doubt on that valuation, with the new/current Newcastle United owners having taken over a shambles from Mike Ashley back in October 2021.

However, as we pointed out on The Mag, you only have to look around at some of the valuations on other Premier League clubs, to see that a current £1billion+ valuation on Newcastle United is anything but a fantasy AND that there is enormous scope for that figure to go far far higher, if NUFC ends up successful on and off the pitch.

This point perfectly backed up this Tottenham story now also reported, a minority stake in Spurs seemingly set to be sold AND that could see Tottenham then valued at around the £3.75billion mark.

The Times report on Tottenham potential minority stake sale:

‘Tottenham Hotspur is in talks to sell a minority stake in a deal that could value it at up to £3.75 billion and pave the way for Joe Lewis and his family to sever ties with the Premier League football club.

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is seeking an investment that values the club at between £3.5 billion and £3.75 billion, including debt. While the terms of any deal have not been finalised, City sources expect Spurs to sell about 10 per cent. The club is being advised by bankers from Rothschild on the sale.

Tottenham wants to raise fresh capital for new player signings and to help fund the development of an academy for its women’s team, as well as a 30-storey hotel next to its north London stadium.

The development of its 62,850-capacity stadium has greatly enhanced Tottenham’s attractiveness to potential investors. As well as bringing in annual gate receipts of £117 million, the ground has hosted concerts by several top music stars including Beyoncé and Travis Scott, as well as NFL matches.

The stadium’s development has saddled the club with £851 million of debt, albeit mostly fixed at rates of 2.79 per cent.’

Bloomberg report on Newcastle United valuation – 29 July 2024:

‘Newcastle United is now valued at over £1 billion ($1.3 billion), after its Saudi owners increased its holding by buying former owner Amanda Staveley’s stake, according to people familiar with the situation.

The current valuation of Newcastle puts the team at roughly the same valuation as seven-time European winner AC Milan, which was sold by Elliott Management Corp. in 2022 to Redbird Capital Partners for $1.3 billion.

Newcastle’s Chief Executive Officer Darren Eales recently told the club’s TV station that revenues have soared north of £300 million.

“The revenues have been rising and it’s incredible to see… but we’re still behind the big six so we know that if we’re going to be competing and punching above our weight, how we use our resources is really important.”

Whilst £305m was paid to Mike Ashley back in October 2021, the Newcastle United owners have six times (see below) injected cash into the club, since then.

This is nothing unusual with a football club, indeed any business, which has been starved of proper investment and left a virtual shell by the original owner of 14+ years. Money needed to be spent after takeover to get Newcastle United back on its feet and be successful on and off the pitch, the idea of course is that in the future the owners will reap the rewards, with a far more valuable business/football club.

The £305m paid to Mike Ashley on 7 October 2021, has been followed by these six cash injections by the new/current owners totalling £302.9m, almost as much as the original purchase price. This takes the overall investment in the club to £607.9m.

The breakdown of where this £607.9m figure comes from:

Whilst countless lazy media have claimed the only reason for buying Newcastle United was allegedly ‘sportswashing’, the reality is that as they and the Reuben family have indicated, it was a brilliant investment opportunity at what could be a seriously successful business/football club that had been run into the ground.

With at least £607.9m already invested in their asset, it is no surprise if indeed the Newcastle United owners are already sitting on a business now worth well over £1billion.

You just need to look at what other major Premier League clubs have been sold for an/or are valued at, to see what the potential is at Newcastle United.

If the Saudi Arabia PIF and Reuben family get it right, with success on and off the pitch their investment will end up valued many time worth what they have put in.

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