Source: Telegraph
Big-spending a thing of the past, says Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley
Newcastle once broke the world transfer record when Alan Shearer joined the club from Blackburn for £15 million in 1996 and smashed that figures when Michael Owen headed to the North-East from Real Madrid five years ago but Ashley has insisted there will be no more similar signings in his watch. [LNB]Ashley's club may be on pole position in the race for promotion from the Championship but Newcastle managing-director Derek Llambias has made it clear that the sports retail tycoon will not sign big-money cheques even if top-flight football is restored to Tyneside. [LNB] Related ArticlesNewcastle 'no longer for sale'Carroll aims to fire for England U21sWatford 1 Newcastle United 2'Ashley's money keeps Newcastle in business'United players rooting for NewcastleNolan: I'm delighted Hughton's in tune with Toon"We have to take a realistic view," Llambias said. "Hopefully we will be there (in the Premier League) and we will have to have a squad that will keep us there. But that needs to grow. [LNB]"That can't happen overnight and we are not going to put the club into financial meltdown do buy one or two big names. "Are huge transfer fees a thing of the past? They are a thing of the past for us at the moment because we just can't afford it. [LNB]"If you look at the players we bought in January we have changed our attitude to how we buy our players and how we deal with agents. We are a lot stronger as far as our negotiations skills with agents." [LNB]The plight of Portsmouth who are now in administration remains a salutary tale for Newcastle. [LNB]Llambias said: "You need to take a realistic look at your books and say this is the way we are going. What has happened at Portsmouth is very sad but it is a reality check. We have done a lot of work behind the scenes. [LNB]"It is cut to the bone. And it has to be to secure the future. We are now in position where we are quite healthy but it is all about promotion for us. [LNB]"Once we were relegated Mike made the decision not to fire-sell. We had a terrible time pre-season at Leyton Orient which scarred the life out of us but it was a wake-up call and the squad have got on with it and got it going. [LNB]"When we lost that advantage we had in December we decided to have a final push and freshen up the squad. Chris needed some more players and Mike put the money in again. [LNB]"If it wasn't for Mike we would have been a Portsmouth. People have to appreciate that he has put his money where his mouth is and he is committed to getting this club back where it belongs. It is too big a club to stay in the Championship. [LNB]Llambias, who runs the club on Ashley's behalf, will also press ahead with the development on young players. [LNB]"We are still investing in our development squad, we are very keen on home-grown players and the academy is working very well. [LNB]"We will get some investment into the development squad as far as we might be one of two players at a million who are 18, 19 that in two or three years will be in the first team we have some good players coming through which you can see with our youth squad in the FA (Youth) Cup. [LNB]"The nucleus is there, there might be one or two positions we might need to review which is (manager) Chris Hughton's job. If he is going to ask for a forward or a creative midfielder then we will have to go out there and look for them." [LNB]Ashley's prudence may come as a surprise to Newcastle supporters with the club still said to be the 20th wealthiest in the world, according to recent statistics. [LNB]"Those figures from being the 20th richest club are from 08-90 when we were Premier League," Llambias said. "The drop from Premier league to [LNB]Championship is just huge. So our revenue would be more like the 48th figure now. We have a huge wage bill that dominates that figures. [LNB]"What we are doing is that Mike has pumped in £25 million in December for running costs and we bought £5.5 players in January and Mike has just paid for that, he is committed and absolutely focused on getting the club back up to the Premier League and wants to make sure it stays there and will continue that. [LNB]"There has not been a penny taken out of the club by Mike. We have had quite a substantial claim by Kevin Keegan that we had to deal with. [LNB]That is a lot of money to find. Season tickets we have been really luck in that we had 28,000 this season which was good. But you need to be up around the 100 million revenue mark to be able to afford the wage bill we have. [LNB]Llambias also hit out at those Newcastle supporters who still target Ashley with abuse over his rule in the club's decline. [LNB]He continued: "I do find it foolish. It is offensive. I don't think they actually understand what mike has actually done for the club. We have been honest. Mike has admitted he has made mistakes with some of his appointments which have caused all sorts of problems within the club and within the city. We are where we are. He is staying. [LNB]"It is not a normal business. You can run a business when 80 per cent of your revenue is down to payroll. Football needs a wake-up call." [LNB]
