Newcastle United owners have bought a Premier League team but not…

The Newcastle United owners have now been in charge for three years three weeks.

Buying the club from Mike Ashley on 7 October 2021.

Eddie Howe was appointed a month later, following the belated sacking of Steve Bruce.

In 10 days time it will mark three years at the club for Eddie Howe.

The final hurrah for Steve Bruce came on 17 October 2021, a 3-2 home defeat to Tottenham. Newcastle United with only one shot on target all match, Eric Dier managing to score a bizarre own goal for United’s other goal.

This was Steve Bruce’s final matchday squad:

Newcastle United:

Darlow, Manquillo, Lascelles, Clark, Ritchie, Sean Longstaff (Shelvey 60), Hayden, Willock (Murphy 77), Saint-Maximin, Joelinton, Wilson (Fraser 77)

Unused Subs:

Gillespie, Schar, Lewis, Fernandez, Hendrick, Gayle

When Eddie Howe arrived in November 2021 (Graeme Jones having taken charge of three Premier League matches following Bruce’s sacking), it was universally agreed that Newcastle United were getting relegated. It would have made it a third relegation in the 13 Premier League seasons that Newcastle had kicked off under the ownership of Mike Ashley.

After the mess left behind by Mike Ashley and Steve Bruce, fair to say that reviving the flatlining Newcastle United was going to take serious surgery.

A chronic lack of investment in the playing squad and terrible decision making, meant the inheritance Eddie Howe received was lacking, to say the least.

These eleven who were in Steve Bruce’s final NUFC matchday squad have since left Newcastle United – Darlow, Manquillo, Clark, Ritchie, Shelvey, Saint-Maximin, Fraser, Lewis, Fernandez, Hendrick, Gayle

In normal circumstances, somebody arriving to take charge of a Premier League team would look to raise significant money by selling unwanted players, to add to whatever funds the club’s owners would make available.

ASM was sold for £23m and the other 10 generated only around £5m between them. Indeed, eight of them went on frees or had to be paid off, with only Shelvey (£4m-£5m) and Darlow (£400,000) bringing in anything.

On top of those eleven in Bruce’s final 20 man matchday squad, Hayden and Gillespie are still at NUFC but won’t generate any transfer fees either.