Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson has warned Newcastle United not to follow in the footsteps of Tottenham Hotspur.
Following the sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for a world record £85.3m in 2013 (BBC), Tottenham decided to sign seven players with the Roberto Soldado, Erik Lamela, Nacer Chadli, Christian Eriksen, Paulinho, Etienne Capoue and Vlad Chiriches all arriving in North London.
Despite the outlay on the new players, Tottenham still failed to win any competitive silverware with their last success having come in the shape of a League Cup victory back in 2008.
Newcastle announced on Thursday that a Saudi-led consortium had completed their takeover of the club from Mike Ashley.
The takeover has seen overnight Newcastle become the richest club in the world with the Saudi-backed Public Investment Fund (PIF), providing 80% of funds of the £305million deal.
Merson believes that the Magpies should not waste their time in looking to spend relatively small amounts on players in the hope they will become a success at St James’ Park and should instead look to full their full weight behind the project.
He wrote in The Daily Star: “I wish I had a tenner for every time I’ve written about a Newcastle takeover, which has now been completed. I’d still be a few quid short of the Saudi royal family, but it’d be a start . . .
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“The thing is, I’ve thought for years ‘Why doesn’t someone buy Newcastle and have a right good go at it?’ They sell out their ground even when there’s not very much to get excited about. It’s a proper club. They’ve been wallowing around in mediocrity for far too long.
“Buying £10m and £12m players doesn’t win anything these days – just ask Tottenham. They sold Gareth Bale and bought loads of players in that bracket. It just doesn’t work.
“But if the new owners decide to have a real go for it, then Newcastle might start to get the kind of side their long-suffering fans deserve.”
SpursWeb Opinion
If the new owners of Newcastle decide to spend big, it will see Spurs’ chances of returning to the top four become even smaller.
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