Managing expectations and going nowhere

The Independent’s football newsletter [View in browser]( [The Independent]( October 15, 2021 [The Independent]( Reading the Game Written by Miguel Delaney Managing expectations and going nowhere English football needs to remember what a club is Over a week on, there is still no public comment from Premier League chief executive Richard Masters on one of the most significant moments in the history of the competition. The takeover of Newcastle United has the potential to transform the landscape of football, as well as the future of the game. The impact of another state purchasing a club should not be underestimated. It could well mean a seventh English superpower in a European game where there are really only seven such clubs - one each from Italy, Germany and France and three from Spain, with the positions of the latter now looking suspect. Many figures at Premier League clubs realised this, and made it clear to Masters and the rest of the competition’s leadership at Tuesday’s meeting. They mostly got the same response back that everyone else did, that “legally binding assurances” were received about the separation between the Saudi Arabian state and its sovereign wealth fund. Some were more reticent about being so outspoken due to potential accusations of hypocrisy. The picture of Premier League owners is certainly a complicated one. It runs from venture capitalists and gambling billionaires to oligarchs and states. There have been many fine political commentaries this week - not least from Simon Kuper and Tom McTague - about England’s premier sporting competition being merely the best illustration of its attitude to all its culture and heritage, which is that anything is for sale. It certainly feels like a key point has been lost along the way. That is what a football club is actually for, what their role is. They should really purely be about playing matches as representations of their local communities. That’s it. Really, anything that impinges or distorts that should be disallowed. That includes pursuits of return on investment and of course sportswashing. It should be that simple. Football, for all manner of reasons, has willingly allowed - and encouraged - it to be so much more complicated. The question of whether conflicted supporters should go A huge debate in this whole issue is whether conflicted Newcastle United supporters should walk away from their club. The view of this column is actually that they shouldn’t. For one thing, it’s unfair and unrealistic to put the entire burden of this on fans. Support for clubs goes way beyond the superficial. These are really deeply ingrained psychological links, that are not so easily broken, and are core to people’s very identities. And that is also why it is important for supporters of any clubs with controversial ownerships to not go. In a sport where everything is for sale, it is all the more important that part of it can’t be appropriated, that some of it is kept pure. That is done by supporters going to games and asserting that deeper identity. They are the true safeguards of what a club is about. Any owner and their aims are only ever temporary. How supporters actually respond to or speak about their club’s hierarchy is a separate issue. But the core part of the club is theirs. Managing expectations So many agents, and so many football figures, have been looking at Newcastle United with wide eyes. That’s the thing when you get new owners with so much money. It is naturally complicating their search for a new manager, let alone the January transfer window. Candidates they shouldn’t be interested in are all too willing, while the finest targets currently have no interest. There is so much fog. It doesn’t help that the hierarchy lack clarity in their own plan. They don’t have true football expertise yet. Frank McParland will do a report for them on a potential new manager, but may not be a sporting director. This has caused the hesitation in removing Steve Bruce. Newcastle don’t really know what they want. Events have almost moved too fast for the plans they had - a remarkable statement given they have had at least 18 months to think about this. Rafa Benitez isn’t currently interested in going back, and sources have dismissed Frank Lampard as an option. Eddie Howe may represent the most viable option. One manager going nowhere For all the criticism, Bruce did a decent job earlier this season frustrating Manchester United for much of Cristiano Ronaldo’s return, and it has led to a sentiment shared between the Newcastle dressing room and Everton’s. Neither were that impressed with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side. There was actually regret they didn’t go for it more, such were the gaps in United’s team structure. A lack of coherence was referenced, and there was a realisation Ronaldo is only really dangerous if the ball can be worked to him. A few emphatic wins in a row can of course destroy such impressions, but it increases the pressure on Solskjaer for this weekend ahead of a very awkward game away to Leicester City. None of that pressure comes from the top of Old Trafford, though. The United hierarchy are still absolutely firm in their belief he is the right man. No one is talking about any kind of change. Top stories [Raheem Sterling: Manchester City forward ‘open’ to leaving in search of regular playing time]( [Amnesty hopes Newcastle fans, players and staff study Saudi human rights record]( Miguel's Dispatches As so much of today’s newsletter illustrates, the week of a football journalist can be very abruptly altered by a big development. Right now, it is all about Newcastle all the time. They are the biggest story in the game, revolving around issues that go way beyond the game. A lot of this came up in Tuesday’s Premier League meeting, which led to a lot of briefing and counter-briefing throughout the game. Much of my Thursday was taken up with cross-referencing various claims between various clubs. It is clear there was considerable debate about the takeover, but few were willing to put their name to misgivings. Everyone pointed elsewhere. Quote of the day “I'm saying to myself 'is he looking for a war?'” Sir Alex Ferguson gives an insight into his old rivalry with Arsene Wenger in a new documentary on the Arsenal great. Reading the game quiz Claudio Ranieri is the fourth manager to have coached in the Premier League and taken charge of both Leicester City and Watford. Name the other three. (Last week's answers: Colombia 1998, Mexico 2001, Greece 2001 (away match), Slovakia 2002, Liechtenstein 2003, Ecuador 2006) Essential reading [Harry Kane a victim of own consistency but doubts linger after drought continues with England]( [Fifa evacuates 100 refugees from Afghanistan including national women’s football players and coaches]( If you can spare a minute we’d love your [feedback]( on our newsletters. [The Independent]( Join the conversation or follow us [Facebook]( [Twitter]( Please do not reply directly to this email You are currently registered to receive The Independent's football newsletter. Add us to your safe list of senders. If you do not want to receive The Independent's football newsletter, please [unsubscribe](list_name=IND_Football_CDP). If you no longer wish to receive any newsletters or promotional emails from The Independent, you can unsubscribe [here](. This e-mail was sent by Independent Digital News and Media Ltd, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5HF. 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