Graham Cummins: Newcastle must beware the dressing room divide big money can cause

I’m sure Newcastle fans are dreaming already of Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland signing, but right now, the Magpies are in the relegation zone, and the club are relying on this current group of players, writes Graham Cummins

Two weeks ago, the very notion that Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur would attract the most attention in a Premier League weekend was laughable. But, like most things in life, when vast amounts of money are added to the equation, things get a little bit more interesting.

It seems that Newcastle fans have not stopped celebrating since Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) takeover of the Magpies, and with Sunday’s game against Spurs being the first in the new ownership’s regime, it will be interesting to sample the atmosphere at St James’ Park.

In the worst of times — when Newcastle had little financial clout, and previous owner Mike Ashley was not prepared to invest enough in the squad — the delusional supporters still believed they should be challenging to finish in the top six. Now, with the club being the wealthiest in the world, there will be no limit to supporters’ expectations. But they shouldn’t get carried away just yet.

I’m sure Newcastle fans are dreaming already of Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland signing, but right now, the Magpies are in the relegation zone, and the club are relying on this current group of players to get them out of it — regardless of the fact that fans will feel most of these players are no longer good enough to wear the famous black and white jersey now that the club has unlimited funds available.

Those fans are probably right. These players aren’t good enough to take the club to where PIF have ambitions for Newcastle to be — but their hands are tied, and they are stuck with this current group of players until the transfer window opens in January. Newcastle still have another 13 games until then, and if results don’t improve, the club could be looking at players that will be good enough to win the Championship next season rather than the Premier League. The Newcastle fans need to trick these players into thinking they still have a future at the club rather than demean them on social media. I scrolled through some of the responses on social media to Newcastle players who had expressed their delight at the takeover of the club. The majority of them were Newcastle fans belittling the players and suggesting that they would be out of the club soon. Although that might be true, that’s hardly going to motivate the players to perform for the club in the here and now.

From a player’s point of view, I would imagine that some truly believe they belong at a club that challenges for trophies. Others would have posted because they felt it necessary to mimic their team-mates, even though they know their days are numbered. Are they going to be motivated to play for a club that is going to get rid of them at the first opportunity? Probably not. It’s tough for those players, because they know they will have to leave to play regular football, and that could mean uprooting their family, which is not an easy thing to do.

They will already have their agent talking to other clubs in anticipation of being told to leave in January. Reaching a financial settlement won’t be an issue like it can be at other clubs when the owners want a player out the door.

These players are going to have a lot on their minds. I’d imagine morale will be low in the dressing room, and the takeover could cause a divide between the players who think they are good enough to stay and those who are realistic and have accepted the inevitable. If results do drastically improve; it will show that some players are solely driven by financial gain.

When Ashley was in charge, players knew that there was little hope of earning the sort of salary those at Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester were on, no matter how well they performed. The former owner was never going to reward players with significant increases.

Now, Newcastle players know that if they can stand out and improve their stats, they will likely be rewarded handsomely for it.

Yes, players are motivated by just going out and performing on a Saturday and recording victories, but deep down, they are more concerned about their next contract. Players are greedy. No matter how much a player says he ‘loves the club’, finance motivates the most. Lionel Messi ‘loved’ Barcelona, after all.

Newcastle will no doubt recruit in January, but right now, the current group have the opportunity to impress. Maybe some will be unrecognisable on Sunday as they show us how good they really can be, now they have the possibility of becoming much wealthier with Newcastle.