There are plenty of articles flying around covering the press briefing held by Newcastle United sporting director Paul Mitchell.
In the wake of a disappointing summer, fans needed a senior figure, one who was directly involved in transfers, to come out and gives us some insight into what went wrong.
Eddie Howe had been dodging the questions like Neo dodging bullets in the Matrix, claiming that it was not his responsibility, so fans needed to hear from someone whose responsibility it was.
That has fallen on the shoulders of Paul Mitchell, who is at a slight disadvantage having walked into the club in the middle of a transfer window.
We said in our first article on this, that without seeing the interview ourselves we're relying on the words written by journalists, and we've already found a perfect example of why that isn't the best way to analyse what was said.
I was quite hard on Paul Mitchell earlier as it looked like he hadn't taken responsibility for anything, however, in the Daily Mail, they quoted one line at the end of a statement that Newcastle World had omitted which completely changes the context.
"I think it’s difficult coming into a predefined strategy,’ he said. ‘Should our scouting and recruitment be driven more extensively with a wider reaching net? It definitely should, because this is becoming a really nuanced space now, when you can't just capitally fund everything every year and buy loads of players at peak age and peak price. Of course it needs to be, and that's the responsibility of me, the scouting team and Eddie."
That last sentence was missing from the first report we read and reacted to and it's a huge sentence. It has Mitchell putting himself right in the middle of things, where he belongs.
Mitchell also called the current transfer strategy not fit for purpose, which may sound harsh but given how Newcastle massively overspent early during the takeover which led to PSR struggles this summer, something which they still haven't fully recovered from, then yes, he's right, it is unfit for purpose.
There was also a confirmation of what everyone suspected, that Eddie Howe told Mitchell that if he couldn't get Marc Guehi then there was nobody else he wanted.
"We had a player as the key, core target. We were still in dialogue (with Palace) all the way through, but Eddie was very clear, and it’s not up to me after seven weeks to say, “We’ll do this and that”, because I’m in a supporting role.
"Were there options, of course there were, as that’s the responsibility of the department and the club. But Eddie was very clear that he had to feel comfortable that the person added value, because we have really good players. That’s why we ended up where we did.
"And he’s smart, he was engaged in all the conversations about PSR, spend, cost, cash-flow, he’s a smart head coach that has the capacity to be kept updated on those conversations. And that was decision he took - it was that player, or he felt that he was comfortable with the quality that we have."
It's worth noting how Mitchell claimed that he played a 'supporting role' this summer, which, again, could read like he's shifting the blame, but also, coming into the club so late in the summer window when targets will have already been identified well in advance, it's probably just the reality of the situation.
As we've already said, there's definitely a disconnect within the club. Not everybody is pulling in the same direction, but there's time to put it right.
That is, if Eddie Howe remains at the club as the England job is still up for grabs, and Howe remains a key target. However, Mitchell is hoping to build the working relationship with Howe moving forward.
"It's a working relationship and it does take time. It has to develop trust within it. I've really enjoyed the interaction and we're growing to work and learn together. I'm super positive because I can see why we can align for the success of Newcastle United.
"What I've seen of Eddie Howe and how good a coach he is - he is super impressive on the grass, and I've got pretty good context with the ones I've worked with - and what I think I can bring to the table, I'm excited to see where that can take us."
As positive as that sounds, is there a subtle "stay in your lane" dig in there? "He is super impressive on the grass" ... so stick to coaching and let me handle the other stuff? Who knows?
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Liverpool
|
12 | 16 | 31 |
2 |
Manchester City
|
12 | 5 | 23 |
3 |
Chelsea
|
12 | 9 | 22 |
4 |
Arsenal
|
12 | 9 | 22 |
5 |
Brighton
|
12 | 5 | 22 |
6 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
12 | 14 | 19 |
7 |
Nottingham Forest
|
12 | 2 | 19 |
8 |
Aston Villa
|
12 | 0 | 19 |
9 |
Fulham
|
12 | 0 | 18 |
10 |
Newcastle United
|
12 | 0 | 18 |
11 |
Brentford
|
12 | 0 | 17 |
12 |
Manchester United
|
12 | 0 | 16 |
13 |
Bournemouth
|
12 | -1 | 15 |
14 |
West Ham United
|
12 | -4 | 15 |
15 |
Everton
|
12 | -7 | 11 |
16 |
Leicester
|
12 | -8 | 10 |
17 |
Wolves
|
12 | -8 | 9 |
18 |
Ipswich
|
12 | -10 | 9 |
19 |
Crystal Palace
|
12 | -7 | 8 |
20 |
Southampton
|
12 | -15 | 4 |