Charnley faces the fans
CHARNLEY FACES FANS AT FORUM – WITH RAFA’S FUTURE AND THE SIZE OF TRANSFER KITTY ON AGENDA
NEWCASTLE United managing director Lee Charnley has faced the club’s supporters at St James’ Park for the first time this year.
The fan forum resulted in a host of questions from selected Toon followers, with many of them keen to get information on how talks with Rafa Benitez are going and how much the Magpies will spend.
The current board rarely speak publicly and Mike Ashley has not given any interviews since last August, when he stated he could not and would not compete with the Premier League’s big boys.
Here are the key points from the meeting that took place last week.
Q Where do we stand on Rafa Benitez’s future?
NUFC response: “The club stated that the manager has a year remaining on his contract. As the manager has publicly stated, discussions to extend his contract are ongoing.”
Q Are the club willing to back Rafa in the transfer market?
NUFC response: “The club stressed that its conversations with the manager are ongoing and include discussions around the transfer pot available.
“The club explained that the recruitment process is year-round and doesn’t stop.
“The manager and recruitment team are talking about targets for this window and have been for some time.”
Q After watching teams like Huddersfield and Brighton spend big after promotion, what is the club’s stance on the expectations of supporters when it comes to recruitment?
NUFC response: “The club stated that relegation to the Championship had undoubtedly given clubs that had remained in the Premier League an advantage financially. “The club also discussed, in addition to transfer fees, that there are often significant costs such as its wage bill and agents fees that are not factored in or referred to. “The club also noted that figures attributed to
The manager and recruitment team are talking about targets for this window and have been for some time NUFC
transfer fees in the public domain were often inaccurate.
“During the 2016/17 season, the club took a considerable gamble to invest significantly in the team in order to gain immediate promotion.
“By way of example, the club committed heavily to its wage bill, which was well beyond not only its competitors in the Championship, but also many clubs in the Premier League.
“The club strengthened in summer 2017 and also made offers to buy players in January prior to acquiring players on loan.”
Q Are Newcastle United still for sale?
NUFC response: “The club stated that the position has not changed and if or when there is anything to update, the club would do so.”
Q What does the future hold for loan players such as Kenedy and Martin Dubravka?
NUFC response: “The club confirmed that it does have an option to make Martin Dúbravka’s loan move permanent but does not have a similar option for Kenedy.”
Q Was there any talk of the ground being expanded?
NUFC response: “Extending the Gallowgate would not make sense commercially and that its view was likely to remain unchanged in the short and medium term and potentially the long term. “At that time, the club also stated that selling St James’ Park to build a new stadium was not an attractive or realistic option.”