‘How can they?’ - Simon Jordan does not hold back on Newcastle United’s spending power
Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan has questioned whether Newcastle United can ever challenge the Premier League elite under current financial rules.
FFP/PSR regulations have been the thorn in Newcastle’s side since the Saudi-backed takeover. Despite having owners worth an estimated £730billion, the Magpies must adhere to strict monetary measures.
Newcastle almost fell foul of the regulations - which prohibits clubs from making a £105million loss over a three-year period - in June. Toon chiefs scampered to sell Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh before the deadline to avoid a possible points deduction.
Funds are rumoured to be tight again in January amid frustration from supporters, at Newcastle and beyond at clubs like Aston Villa, to loosen the rules, Speaking to talkSPORT, ex-owner Jordan sympathised with the Magpies for their catch-22 situation.
“This is the flip side of the PSR argument,” he said. “The Premier League, which has worked brilliantly and become the most vestibule league around the world, the envy of every other league, is now regulating itself.
“No one else can come along and build a football club that can compete with the guys that were already there. Because Newcastle, while I do think there has to be order and it shouldn’t be the Wild West, maybe there should be controls around salary capping, I don’t see how they can ever get to the level of Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal or Manchester City, whose turnovers are north of £500million.
“Newcastle’s is sub-£300million. How do they get that other £200million? Where does it come from? It can only come from achievement on the field. How do they get that? They buy players. How can they buy players if they need to sell players to buy in the first place?”