For the first 18 months, it had all looked so simple for the Saudi Arabian-led consortium who had taken over as owners of Premier League club Newcastle United in a deal worth £305 million.
The club's trajectory was quickly heading upward after the appointment of Eddie Howe as manager in November 2021. Newcastle rose out of the relegation zone up to mid-table security, followed by a fourth-place finish the following campaign, booking a return to Uefa Champions League football.
Backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), Howe's squad had been improved every transfer window with the likes of Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimaraes, Sven Botman and Alexander Isak arriving at St James' Park as statement signings that significantly lifted the quality of the team's starting XI.
The following season was a reality check as the club suffered regular body blows on and off the pitch; from key summer signing Sandro Tonali's ban for breaking betting rules, a nightmare injury list, a group-stage Champions League exit, and highly respected sporting director Dan Ashworth being lured away by Manchester United.
They even missed out on European football despite finishing seventh when Manchester City fell to a surprise FA Cup final defeat to Manchester United, who claimed a Europa League spot, knocking Chelsea down to the Europa Conference League, in turn costing Newcastle their spot.
“When I look back on this season I'll only have good memories,” said Howe after the final game of the season. “Some really challenging moments when we had to dig deep but the players never let me down. I think it's been a season of progression … but that has to continue.”
Those final words have proven to be key as maintaining the club's progression might well be the biggest challenge Howe has faced since taking over as manager following a summer of discontent on Tyneside.
In July, the surprise exits of minority shareholders Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi – who had been instrumental in sealing the deal to buy out previous owner Mike Ashley and were the consortium's public faces – were announced as PIF increased its stake in the club to 85 per cent.
“I am devastated,” said Staveley in an interview with The Athletic. "[My] preference would have been to stay, but life doesn’t always work out exactly how you want it to … it’s got to be about what’s best for Newcastle.”
But it has been the shadow of the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) that has rocked the Magpies, who have spent around £400m since the takeover was completed but have now made no major signings for two transfer windows.
The alarm bells were ringing back in January when chief executive Darren Eales admitted that player sales would be considered in the next phase of the club project: “If we're going to get to where we want to get to, at times it is necessary to trade your players.”
That month, the likes of captain Trippier, winger Miguel Almiron and striker Callum Wilson were all linked with moves away. “Every Premier League club will sell players now because of the rules placed upon them,” Howe conceded. “Selling players is vital to being able to bring players in the other way.”
While January sales were avoided, there would be no escape over the summer when Newcastle were forced to offload two talented young players to Premier League rivals: 21-year-old Elliot Anderson went to Nottingham Forest (£35m) and Yankuba Minteh, 20, to Brighton (£30m) ahead of the PSR accounting deadline.
“I would’ve loved to have kept them – they are two outstanding young players and really disappointed to lose them both,” said Howe. “But, we were backed into a corner … it was as good an outcome as we could have hoped for.”
The sales meant Newcastle had kept hold of their crown jewels in midfielder Guimaraes, striker Isak and winger Anthony Gordon, although the latter is reported to have been unsettled when he was offered to Liverpool as the club scrambled to meet PSR targets.
Only free transfer Lloyd Kelly and £15m forward Will Osula have been brought in, although full-back Lewis Hall made his loan move from Chelsea permanent in a £28m deal. The long-running chase to bring in England defender Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace ended in failure as did a late bid to sign Nottingham Forest winger Anthony Elanga.
And fans' frustration has grown over the summer, particularly towards Eales and Paul Mitchell, Ashworth's replacement as sporting director, who have been in charge of transfer negotiations with Howe taking a step back.
But Mitchell insisted in a media conference on Wednesday that Newcastle avoided punishment for overspending and not recouping anything back in sales “by the skin of our teeth”, adding that the club would not be held to ransom over potential transfers.
“It's about setting precedents to the market that we will pay fair value for the right profile,” he said. “It shouldn't be misconceived as a lack of ambition. If we just spend, spend, spend once again, we become accountable to that by fines and points deductions, and that isn't good leadership, you're being negligent.”
As it is, Newcastle have made a decent start to the new season results-wise by going undefeated from their opening four games – two wins and draw in the league, beating Nottingham Forest on penalties in the League Cup – but would have had few complaints if they had lost them all.
“It's been a turbulent time for the club off the pitch throughout this last transfer window,” said Howe after their fortunate 2-1 over Tottenham Hotspur last Sunday. “But that's shut now, so hopefully we can just concentrate on the football and get the players playing as well as they can.”
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
The five pillars of Islam
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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Honeymoonish
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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The team
Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
Videographer: Jear Valasquez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
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HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
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