Eddie Howe will be the first person to admit that the 2023/24 campaign has fallen well below expectations for Newcastle United.
The Magpies had a fantastic 2022/23 which afforded them the opportunity to enter the Champions League for the first time in over 20 years, however, the extra games appeared to be a bridge too far for the first-team squad who have suffered from an incredible amount of injuries since a season high of demolishing Paris Saint-Germain at St. James Park.
It’s been a case of two steps forward and one back throughout the current season and the club haven’t been able to build up any sort of consistency.
Newcastle set for huge financial windfall
Whether that will lead to the Saudi Public Investment Fund looking for a change in the dugout isn’t clear at this stage, though that would be harsh on Howe, Jason Tindall and the back room staff.
They showed against West Ham recently that the first team will run through brick walls for their manager, and that has to count for something.
With a handful of games still to play, there’s an outside chance of a finish in the European places, and the higher that the club do finish, the bigger the financial windfall at the end of the season.
According to Chronicle Live Newcastle could earn as much as £46.9m, which would certainly help them from a Financial Fair Play perspective.
The outlet note that each place in the Premier League is worth an extra £2.2m, and aside from a base payment that all clubs get, there’s also the TV money to take into account when doing the sums.
A sixth-place finish would, apparently, earn them in the region of £33m, but when the Champions League money is taken into account, the higher figure of £46.9m could be reached.
That’s likely to be music to the ears of everyone concerned.