Why PSR has been largely beneficial to the progress of Newcastle United | OneFootball

When Newcastle United were taken over by the consortium headed by the Saudi Arabia PIF in 2021, many expected us to have a similarly meteoric rise as Manchester City had before us.

Given the astronomical wealth of the Newcastle United owners, there was speculation our rise would be even more dramatic than theirs, with some naively believing we were going to instantly create an ultimate world XI overnight, the second the first transfer window arrived.

The vast majority of Newcastle United fans are still beyond happy for the progress we have made so far, despite it being far less drastic than the rise some may have expected.

Yet even the most gracious amongst us, still find the stumbling blocks hindering our progress extremely frustrating to say the least.

Of course, I am alluding to the Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR), which have made strengthening our squad an incredibly difficult mission.

Even though we had no real first team incomings this summer other than the permanent signing of Lewis Hall, it appears we still find ourselves unable to strengthen our first team squad this January, unless we make some significant sales of current NUFC players.

Given how much the traditional ‘Premier League Big 6’ spend season on season without having to make such sales, PSR has become the bane of our club’s existence, making it impossible to compete with them financially, even though the financial resources are seemingly there to do so.

As frustrating as these rules are, with our squad in undeniable need of strengthening that we are unable to accomplish, I truly believe that PSR has been largely beneficial to the progress of Newcastle United. As ridiculous a claim as this may sound, it’s worth taking a look at the clubs around us, to see how far big spending truly takes you as a football club.

Chelsea and Manchester United have been two of the largest spenders in world football since the introduction of FFP/PSR.

Chelsea, in particular, have been notably frivolous in their spending, with some individual signings surpassing £100 million and spending over one billion pounds across three transfer windows. Signing a ridiculous number of players in recent years, currently they find themselves a point behind of Newcastle United, despite boasting a squad that cost many hundreds of millions more than our own.

Our recent fixture away at Manchester United is yet more evidence that unrestricted spending is not the golden ticket to success that many believe it to be. Newcastle’s 2-0 victory at Old Trafford is a scoreline which flattered the home side, with Newcastle having never been such comfortable victors in the Premier League at what is now the Theatre of Nightmares. Manchester United’s bottom half of the table side consists of a multitude of players who arrived at the club for high prices with large reputations. Multiple managers have now tried and failed at returning the club to their former glory, with hundreds of millions at their disposal, yet the increased spending has only seemed to see them drop further down the table as the seasons go by.

There are several reasons why high spending often isn’t as successful a practice as it often appears. For starters, high profile players often come with egos and attitude problems, with expectations of unlimited game time regardless of form, along with incredibly high salary demands accompanying their large transfer fees. These players can prove difficult to coach, with managers unable to gain their respect and the media circus surrounding them often also having a negative effect on the player. The higher the price of a player, the higher the media scrutiny, which often leads to the player themselves buckling and underperforming under the extra pressure that comes with an inflated fee.

Although Newcastle United is now home to several players on the verge of world-class quality, it is under Eddie Howe’s tutelage that they have been able to reach this ability, and it is clear that thus far our stars have not displayed many of the negative characteristics that often come with this high status.

We have seen numerous teams who have developed great squads, such as the 2015/16 Southampton side that reached 6th in the league, get picked apart almost instantly by certain Premier League sides, the second they had a sniff of success.

Eddie Howe’s development of our big stars has developed a clear, undeniable loyalty to him and the club that is rare to see in modern football, given how quickly footballers often jump ship the second other clubs are interested.

Signing a large quantity of players at any given time can also contribute to major problems. Having an overly large squad consisting of new players can make it difficult for teams to gel, with players unable to generate proper chemistry amongst themselves due to a lack of time playing together. Slowly adding to a side with a few players at a time leaves the team chemistry largely the same, making it easier for new players to slowly settle into a side with little consequence. We have seen Eddie Howe delay bringing new signings into the first eleven, allowing players to settle in slowly and gel with the rest of the side before they begin to routinely start games. The slow re-introduction of Sandro Tonali to the squad is a perfect example,

Having large amounts of money at your disposal also often leads to rushed decision-making, with clubs not giving much of a grace period to any given new signing or new manager.

Of course, I find myself just as irritated as every other Newcastle United fan that we are unable to use our wealth to even a fraction of its potential.

However, the inability to spend has led to us developing a team of young and passionate players, many of whom have come on leaps and bounds since arriving at Newcastle United, due to them being given the time and freedom to develop.

We may one day look back in years to come and see the existence of PSR as something of a blessing in disguise for Newcastle United.