Source: Northern_Echo
Ashley needs to shell out £60m
MIKE ASHLEY has been warned around he will need to invest £60m in Newcastle United's squad if Premier League football is going to stay at St James' Park for longer than one season.[LNB] Ashley was a picture of delight in the directors' box on Monday night, when victory over Nottingham Forest put the Magpies within touching distance of automatic promotion from the Championship.[LNB] But Forest manager Billy Davies, who guided Derby to promotion via the play-offs in 2007 before being sacked in the November, believes Ashley should be preparing for an expensive summer.[LNB] Managing director Derek Llambias claimed earlier this month that with promotion it would be two years down the line before the manager would have a better pot for buying players.[LNB] Manager Chris Hughton is still expected to be handed around £10m to boost his recruitment once Premier League status has been guaranteed.[LNB] Davies, however, feels Ashley might have to at least triple that figure if Newcastle are to stand a chance of staying up even if the former Rams boss thinks the foundations are in place for a sustained run in the top-flight.[LNB] When I went up in to the Premier League with my former club, that year Tottenham Hotspur were a very good Premier League side and spent £50m on top of what they had already, said Davies.[LNB] For teams like Newcastle and other teams, going up is a very difficult task they will be facing.[LNB] But Newcastle is different from other clubs that have been promoted because of where they have come from.[LNB] Newcastle are already sitting here with a budget that exceeds X-amount of pounds with a squad depth that carries huge experience.[LNB] They are more equipped than any other team in this division.[LNB] But they will still need to spend, speaking as a greedy manager, at least £40m for the first window and £20m for the second window.[LNB] Forest hope to clinch promotion themselves, but seven successive away defeats have left them trailing second place West Brom by nine points.[LNB] Davies, though, never really expected anything other than Newcastle to make an immediate return to the topflight.[LNB] He said: Look at their team: Gutierrez, Enrique, Ameobi you can go through this team. This team are more equipped than others.[LNB] Newcastle are a different animal. This animal is readymade for it but of course it will need a new injection of players.[LNB] Newcastle defender Jose Enrique typifies the transformation that has taken place on Tyneside this season. He has overcome a dreadful start to life in the North-East by becoming one of the best players in the Championship.[LNB] If promotion is sealed at Peterborough on Saturday it happens if Newcastle win and Forest lose at Bristol City he shares Davies' view that investment in the squad will be required.[LNB] We have a good team for the Championship we have a very good team for this division,[LNB] he said. We need players for next season in the Premier League, of course, but that is normal every team will need new players.[LNB] It is not my work to say how many players we will need but, of course, I hope we will sign some new players because it is good to have a big squad.[LNB] The 24-year-old, who scored the first goal of his senior career against Forest, is satisfied Newcastle will not need to change their manager.[LNB] Having worked under Sam Allardyce, Kevin Keegan, Joe Kinnear and Alan Shearer, he feels none of them compare to Chris Hughton.[LNB] He has had a long career as a coach but this is the first time he has had the opportunity to be the boss and I think he has proved what a good one he is, said Enrique.[LNB] For me, my personal opinion, he is the best manager I have had here. This is my third season at Newcastle and he is the best.[LNB] There have been very famous names but it is not always about that. As a player Alan Shearer was unbelievable here. Of course, he was only here for seven weeks (as manager) or so and you cannot really decide how good someone is in that short period of time. I can't say anything against him.[LNB] But Chris has had one season and has grown into the job. People who say he will not be as good a manager in the Premier League are being unfair.[LNB] Why not[LNB] The club want him to stay, he is very keen to stay and certainly the players want to work with Chris next season.[LNB]
