... does it exist if you're not from there. There a debate on this subject raging on RTG, started by a Mag disguised as a Mackem ... nothing changes. Basically this Mag is trying to convince himself, and us, that the top managers and players will come, if only for the money. Now, I love the NE and will defend it to anyone I meet, but there's always been a problem and that won't change imo.
I think if you are from outside of the area you will think "whats there for me" but how often do we hear once a player or manager is here they realise what this area is all about and end up loving it? They realise there is a bit of everything - coastal areas, countryside and the city life - probably all within about a 30 minute drive.
All true and I was saying this to a Mag mate the other day. The problem, as @Smug in Boots alludes to, is getting those people here in the first place. If you can earn 200k in London, Manchester, Liverpool or Newcastle, where are you likely to choose...
I've seen all the arguments and none really ring true tbh. People will say we have a lovely coastline & countryside, good restaurants & shops, loads of pubs, decent travel links, posh housing estates, etc, etc, etc. That's all true but they don't mention what there isn't which is endless. And it's the WAGS who rule and they often have endless time to fill. Foreign players/partners will most likely have already been to London, they have flights to everywhere in the world, and will know that there's a community of their countrymen wherever they're from. as well as churches, restaurants, etc. For single wealthy players the place is crammed with wealthy women and endless places to meet them. They can also vanish in London whereas they can't leave the house in the NE without being approached or their movements being posted on Twitter.
for the normal run of the mill family, the NE is a great place to live. For spoiled pampered ****ers like footballers, it isnt Id rather we stayed that way than have some sprawling metropolis that everyone flocks to This will probably piss off mag fans who think Newcastle is the centre of the Universe
Our towns have developed to serve the kind of people we generally are ... ... suits us perfectly. Things can't change and this 'levelling up' is a fantasy that's been talked about for decades. John Hall was talking about it decades ago, made money from the locals and sat back in his big house .... ... just as the mine owners, he complains about, used to do.
I know plenty of people who aren't from the NE who have moved there and will never leave. Where my parents live, there are numerous people who moved to the region for work and have stayed after retirement and even plenty who have moved to the region to retire. The thing is, these are generally the type of people to whom the region's countryside, landscape, coastline, historic sites, community feel etc. appeal. Its a sweeping generalisation, but those tend not to be the things that appeal to the professional footballer. On the face of it, its easy to say that the NE doesn't have what the average professional footballer is looking for. Although places like Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield, Hull, Norwich and Coventry (and you could add plenty of others to the list) are similarly hampered, so to assume that the north-east clubs are under the greatest disadvantage is probably wrong. To overcome the problems that the NE clubs face in these regards, there's one obvious solution. Be very selective about who you recruit. Saracens rugby club (as I've said before on here (and just gloss over the dodgy financial stuff)) have, for years, been selectively recruiting the kind of people that buy into their philosophy. This has been very successful. Fortunately for us, one of the NE clubs is establishing a set up that are likely to be very switched on to this kind of approach. The other one will probably think that throwing money at the problem will be a solution. And it may well be in the short term.
They'll come alright, or some of them will. But the money they will have give them will bemuch more than it would be to get them to play in London or elsewhere in or near the South East. This of course brings it's own problems of motivation, and in the corrosive effect of players who are nothing way out of the ordinary being paid five or six times what some others in the team are getting. This is hardly a new thing, and if they get swallowed up in all that again, they deserve all the misery it can bring with it.
They'll come alright, or some of them will. But the money will gave to much more than it would be to gettbem to pmay in London of elsewhere in or near the South East. This of course brings it's own problems of motivation, and in the corrosive effect of players who are nothing way out of the ordinary being paid five or six times what some others in the team are getting. This is hardly a new thing, and if they get swallowed up in all that again, they deserve all the misery it can bring with it.
I would rather play for 50K a week at Burnley than play for 100K a week for the Saudi's. Can you imagine if you are star man but get unsettled and want to leave? You wouldnt dare tell them.
The incredibly high wages, in the PL, etc, put Newcastle at a huge disadvantage. If Salah earns 200k a week for playing at Liverpool, in the CL, etc, would he go to an average club, like Newcastle, for 220k ... ... obviously not and neither would most players. So Newcastle would have to pay 250k, probably more, to persuade a player to come. as things stand Salah would be playing alongside the likes of Shelvey, Longstaff, Ritchie, Joelinton etc, and winning nothing so no win bonuses or trophies. His personal endorsements/advert income/image rights would plummet and his form would probably suffer. And, of course, they'll be employed by murderers.
Some do tend to stay though - look at Bally - basically now an adopted mackem. Sure the mags and boro will have some that do the same. I think if the NE is to become somewhere players want to move to the mags will have to push some massive propoganda to get them here. Will some of it rub off on us and help us attract players? Not in the short term but in the long term maybe.
There is something in the argument about attracting overseas or southerners football talent to the NE. They prefer London or at a pinch Cheshire. Unless of course they are paid loads of money. Perhaps one way to mitigate this is to ensure home born/grown talent remains in the NE. I think an argument could be made that one of the NE best exports is football talent.
I think what will end up happening is the mags will end up buying very average players on very high wages. The truly top pros wont want to come for the time being. The fans also need to realise that this will take time - no way will they be signing Mbappe in January for £200m. Why the **** would he come for a relegation battle. Unfortunately a large proportion of their fan base want it all right now. Can see it being an utter car crash imo
It will have to be run like any other football club or the whole sport-washing aspect of the purpose will be negated. The links to the Saudi regime may well put some players off coming though. No matter how much money they're willing to spend, the real top drawer players will have more attractive options elsewhere. At best (for them at least) they'll become what they were a few years ago- a last resort for the expensive flops, the big name trouble-makers, the permanently injured superstars that no other club will touch with a barge pole but which they have to sign to slake the thirst of the Geordie Nation for a big name. And with those kind of characters they'll win nothing.
