OUR FANS WANT MESSI AND MBAPPE ... WE CAN ACHIEVE ANYTHING NOW
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH JONJO SHELVEY, THE FIRST NEWCASTLE PLAYER TO DISCUSS THE SAUDI TAKEOVER
‘Outside the stadium was incredible. I wanted to drive down and have a beer myself!’
JONJO Shelvey was, like Newcastle’s supporters, anxiously watching the Tv news last Thursday as he wondered whether the club’s Saudi-led takeover was finally going to happen.
Then, shortly after 5pm, the confirmation statement dropped, accompanied by pictures from St James’ Park as thousands of fans set off flares, downed cans of lager in celebration and sprayed what they had left in the air.
‘Those scenes outside the stadium were incredible,’ says Shelvey. ‘I was going to have a drive down, I wanted to get out there with a beer myself!
‘That reaction at the stadium is unique. The fans have suffered a lot in the past so I think what we saw was a release of frustration and relief that the deal had finally happened.
‘Credit to the fans too because they have helped push this deal through. It gives us all so much to look forward to.
‘I went to watch (amateur club) Newcastle Blue Star on Friday night, my mate plays in goal. There were about 1,000 fans there, fully grown men wearing Arab clothes, I couldn’t believe it.
‘I got off at half-time because I couldn’t really watch the game in the end, but it was mad. They were so happy.’
Shelvey, who suffered a calf injury in August, was talking to Sportsmail having just played 80 minutes of his comeback match for the club’s Under 23s. It is a timely return.
he is the first Newcastle player to speak publicly about the takeover and is honest enough to admit that, while the overriding emotion is excitement, it also brings some uncertainty for those in the dressing room.
Shelvey read Amanda Staveley’s comments in the hours after the £305million deal was signed off, during which she told Sportsmail of the club’s ambition to be as big as Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
The co-owner also spoke of winning the Champions league and Premier league.
‘I probably won’t be around when that does happen!’ says Shelvey, with a smile. ‘I know how long that could take.
‘But to hear someone come in and say that, as a footballer, it makes you want to stay and fight for a place to be a part of it, those aspirations and goals.
‘I’ve got 18 months left on my contract, so it comes down to me to show the people in charge what I’m about. I have to look after No 1, it’s my career. So it is nerve-racking but I’m a positive person and I’ll try to grasp the opportunity with both hands. There is excitement and nerves.’
Shelvey, 29, speaks with authority given he is among the club’s longest-serving players, approaching six years on Tyneside.
The vice-captain knows there was a ceiling placed on ambition under Mike Ashley, and the manner in which he now talks of potential is a nod to the frustration that existed in the squad. his frank assessment of the training ground is equally telling.
‘This is unbelievable for the club,’ he says. ‘The fans have been asking for this for a very long time. It’s great news for them.
‘I understand what the fans want — they want Mbappe and Messi. All I can say is, that won’t come overnight, we have to be realistic.
‘In terms of the set-up, we all know the training-ground facilities are below par when it comes to Premier league standard.
‘As players we’ve got on with it and we’ve had to deal with that to the best of our ability. The money just hasn’t been there. That was hard to accept.
‘But the money will be there now. I understand you can’t go spending so much straight away, and it will be a long process, but it’s one the club and the fans deserve.
‘This club can achieve anything it wants now, the sky is the limit.’
For all the talk of the future, the here and now sees Newcastle winless and second from bottom in the Premier league.
head coach Steve Bruce will be sacked before Sunday’s home game with Tottenham as the new owners attempt to give the players every chance to start their era with victory.
Shelvey knows they are hopelessly under-achieving given the talent on the books.
‘When you look at some of the players we have, it’s frightening where we actually are,’ says the former england midfielder.
‘First and foremost, we have to stay in the league. January will be a big month for the club.
‘But we have a short-term goal, and that is just to get that first win. With the squad we’ve got, we can do that as soon as Sunday.’
Despite the irony in us sheltering from the Tyneside drizzle beneath a steel staircase at Whitley Park, Shelvey was keen to dispel the notion of this city not being a lure for the best players.
‘That’s another thing,’ he said, forcefully. ‘People say it will be hard to attract top-level players to Newcastle because it’s not london or Manchester.
‘But I’ve lived here for nearly six years, it’s a great place. There’s so much to do. I can’t speak highly enough of this city and the area.’
Attention now turns to Sunday for what promises to be an occasion of the like not witnessed since the days of Kevin Keegan in the 1990s. It is little wonder Shelvey has declared himself fit.
‘It’s going to be huge,’ he says. ‘We’ve really got to put on a show for the fans, because they’ll be right behind us. We can’t wait.’
‘Win the Champions League? I probably won’t be around when that happens!’