Newcastle United have nearly always been ever-present in the Premier League, missing just three years of the competition since it began in 1992. For a club with such rich history in the English game and with a large fanbase who regularly sell out their 60,000 capacity stadium you would expect the club to be performing better than they have in recent years.
Unfortunately, as is often the case in football for better or for worse, Newcastle United’s success is dependent on the whims of their owner Mike Ashley. Since Ashley took over the club back in 2007, the fortunes of the Magpies have gone downhill, with the club suffering their first relegation in 20 years when they finished 18th in 2009. Having often been relegation candidates since their return to the Premier League, let’s look at why those in the sports betting industry have Newcastle United nailed on for relegation…
Loss of an experienced manager
Rafa Benitez was a glimmer of hope for Geordie fans, who were regularly singing his praises for the way he stuck by the club despite their relegation to the Championship and brought them straight back up. Benitez was no stranger to helping underdog teams win big trophies, winning La Liga twice with Valencia, the FA Cup and Champions League with Liverpool and the Coppa Italiana with Napoli. Here at Newcastle however, he grew frustrated by the owner’s unwillingness to go after his targets in the transfer market and declined to renew his contract.
Selling key players
Originally signed from Tenerife for just 3 million Ayoze Perez was an underrated gem in this Newcastle side, he was fast, direct and could often score or create goals from tight situations. Now the Spanish forward has been sold to Leicester for £30 million, a big profit that will no doubt please the owner but will leave a bad taste in the mouth of the fans unless he can be replaced by someone of similar quality.
The appointment of Steve Bruce
Bruce is a competent manager who has managed the likes of Crystal Palace, Hull and Sunderland in the Premier League having mixed success. His crowning achievement was reaching the 2014 FA Cup final with Hull, so Newcastle fans will obviously be disappointed to see Bruce in charge as it shows the ambitions of the club are low.
A weak squad
The loss of key players and an unwillingness to sign anyone who might be capable of making a difference leave Newcastle in a tough position. Although they finished 13th last season, the Magpies had been in the relegation zone in January and were perhaps saved by the other teams around them being even worse. Now with all the teams around them strengthening their squads, it seems Newcastle may be left behind.
Mike Ashley’s apathy
Any Newcastle fan will tell you that the root of all their problems stems from the man in charge, since he took over the club has continued to struggle each season with no change in sight. Rumours of a supposed change of ownership this summer turned out to be just wishful thinking and now Geordies grow ever weary as their club looks