Who will help to awaken last of sleeping giants?

SIX MONTHS ON FROM TAKEOVER, CEO STILL NEEDED

NEWCASTLE United’s owners have effectively had to work backwards since the takeover six months ago but, come the end of the year, the hierarchy could have their desired skeleton structure in place.

A head coach has already been appointed in Eddie Howe; a sporting director, Dan Ashworth, is on his way once the Brighton technical director serves his period of gardening leave; and a chief executive will follow.

Speaking at last month’s Financial Times Business of Football Summit, Amanda Staveley said club officials have already spoken to some ‘amazing candidates’ for the CEO position and the part-owner hoped an appointment was ‘not too far away.’

While Staveley and husband Mehrdad Ghoudossi, who are essentially operating as interim co-ceos, know they have not got the experience of other highlevel chiefs elsewhere but hope to support the new chief executive to achieve the club’s long-term goals as soon as possible.

The duties of the role vary depending on a club’s structure, but the chief executive will be tasked wit: helping to set the tone of what Newcastle is going to be going forward; growing the club sustainably; driving commercial revenues; and putting the Magpies on the global map after years of missed opportunities during Mike Ashley’s ownership.

Central to that will be the idea of the ‘journey’ Newcastle are going on, which is a dream that has already been sold to Bruno Guimaraes, Kieran Trippier et al, and was the big attraction for so many wouldbe owners over the years.

Ex-manchester United and Chelsea CEO Peter

Kenyon (pictured) told associates the Magpies ‘could be a global brand’ and called the club the ‘last of the sleeping giants’ when he tried to buy it.

Another former chief executive at a Premier League side shared that view.

“The potential is based on eyeballs and also stories, and Newcastle has the opportunity to do both,” he said. “Are Newcastle really any different to what Manchester City were 15 years ago?

“If you were to look at Manchester City and Chelsea before the Roman Abramovich era, they were big clubs but they weren’t internationally renowned clubs like Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal. I can certainly see the potential there at Newcastle.”

It is all the more important that the new CEO helps secure such partnerships and sponsorship deals to ensure Newcastle can continue to operate within Financial Fair Play regulations, which look set to limit clubs’ spending to a percentage of their income.

Also, if Newcastle are to eventually replicate Manchester City’s multi-club model, the CEO will likely oversee that and will also be heavily involved in any development projects, such as building a new training ground or expanding St James’ Park.

The role has enormous scope and the hierarchy are not ruling out bringing in someone from outside football who could offer something a little different, though have already spoken to some with experience inside the game. Whoever it is, the owners have to get this crucial appointment right.