2007-2017 Newcastle under Ashley v Spurs under Levy

2007-2017 Newcastle under Ashley v Spurs under Levy

First there was that superb article from an Aston Villa fan about how the clubs have gone in different directions since Daniel Levy took over and how they wish they had a chairman like Levy, the envy of fans up and down the country.

You can read about that here: Comparing Aston Villa to Spurs under Levy

Now we have the wonderful Swiaa Ramle on Twitter answering a question about the fortunes of the 7th richest club in the country when Mike Ashley took over in 2007 against the 6th richest club in the country at the time, and still, Tottenham Hotspur.

When he took over Newcastle finished in 11th place and Tottenham finished in 12th. We are now regular Top 4 finishers while Newcastle have finished better than 10th on only 1occasionn.

Newcastle United have broken even under Mile Ashley while Tottenham Have made a £215m profit, most of which has been accumulated in the last four seasons when we have had to produce financial results that allow ed us to get the best interest rates for our bank loans to build the new stadium.


Tottenham have made a £188 profit over those 4 fours while Newcastle have made a £47m loss.

Clubs have to be self-sufficient now, what they spend they have to generate, thus increasing income is of paramount importance, especially when you take into account 93% of trophies are won by clubs with a bigger wage bill than Spurs.

Throw in our win and only 5.72% of trophies have been won by clubs with less income and less wage bill than us.

Newcastle United income has fallen by £1m from £87m to £86m, which in real terms over 10 years is a drastic reduction, when to compete Ashley should have been concentrating on building the income base.

Tottenham under Daniel Levy have trippled income in the same period. Is it any wonder the different fortunes of the two clubs on the field now. Money pays for football, football doesn't bring in the money.

Tottenham income in 2007 was £103m and now it is £306m which has brought better players, a rise up the Premier League and now UEFA Champions League football. Spurs have progressed towards winning trophies and Newcastle United have regressed.

Back in 2007 Newcastle received more from broadcasting rights than we did. In 2017 we received £117m more. In 2016 when Newcastle were last in the Premier League we received £38m more.

Spurs have received £231m more than Newcastle from the Premier League, the Toon have been relegated twice of course.

Under Mike Ashley Newcastle have qualified for the UEFA Europa League once, prior to him they qualified for the UEFA Champions League twice and the Europa League 6 times.

While Newcastle have earned (at today's exchange rate) £4.62m from European competition, Spurs have earned £161.93m.

Match day income for Newcastle has sunk £10m from £34m to £23m while Tottenham's match day income has risen from £35m to £45m and will double when the new stadium is completed.

Commercial income at Newcastle has dropped £13m from £28m down to £15m while during the same period Spurs' commercial income has grown from £34m to £73m, an increase of £39m.

The all important wages bill has seen Spurs triple from £44m to £127m while Newcastle, who had the 5th highest wage bill in the Premier League in 2007 has seen an increase of just £20m.

That statistic tells you everything, wages control football.

Income controls wages.

Fans argue football is about winning trophies, and it is, but simply concentrating on a football team and ignoring the infrastructure that helps generate income to pay the wages to win trophies, hasn't worked for Newcastle.

In 10 years Mike Asley has spent £10m on infrastructure, Tottenham are building a brand new stadium, have built a state-of-the-art training facility and players lodge that England and Brazil have both used. Spurs have currently spent over half a billion on infrastructure.

It should be noted that once stadium expenditure is paid for then money can be diverted to team strengthening. In the meantime, the cost will be at set levels, but there will still be money available to divert to team strengthening. That though is a whole new subject, misunderstood by many a fan.

While trophies look just around the corner for Tottenham and fans can enjoy Champions League nights, the same doesn't look to be on the horizon for Newcastle United.

I guess all those anti-Levy fans want a guy like Mike Ashley running the club!

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