John Barnes has another go at Newcastle United after his Carabao Cup final comments - Just zip it, John
John Barnes managed to upset a large portion of the Newcastle United fanbase with the comments he made after the Carabao Cup win, suggesting that it the cup win won't be a springboard for further success.
The former Newcastle and Liverpool man claimed that Newcastle wouldn't push on after the Carabao Cup win and that the trophy wouldn't help them keep hold of their top players.
Now, after the summer and Alexander Isak's behaviour forced through a move to Liverpool. The former England midfielder feels his comments were fully justified.
That would be fine if he just left it there, we suppose, but he's gone on to dig himself further into the hole.
John Barnes has dug himself deeper into a hole with Newcastle fans
Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, Barnes revisited his comments and then added more fuel to the fire.
“It was always going to be difficult for Eddie Howe. In many respects, I think they were looking for a stopgap for a big-name manager, but he did it so well and won them their first trophy, so they have to stick with him.
“Newcastle fans had a go at me after the cup final because they asked if this was going to be a stepping stone for Newcastle to push on, and I said, Push on to where? They finish 4th or 5th, they’re not going to push on to win the league and win the Champions League.
“They thought that was a bit disrespectful, and then they said, is this now a way for them to keep their players, and I said that if Newcastle lost the cup final, and Isak and other players wanted to stay, they would stay. The fact that they’ve won the cup doesn’t mean they’re going to stay. Then Isak left.
“So, unfortunately, no matter what you create with all these big players and all this money, you’re not going to be able to sustain that. Newcastle can’t spend more than everybody else, so top players will still want to go to Man United or Liverpool, not Newcastle, because they can’t spend twice as much.
“What they have to do is get some good players, and if they want to go then let them go, rather than this negativity of the whole Isak situation, it doesn’t really help Eddie Howe at all. The fact that they buy these players doesn’t mean they’re going to keep them, because they’re going to want to go to other clubs.”
John Barnes' argument just feels lazy, or at best, poorly worded
Yes, PSR or whatever that's going to become is always going to keep that divide between Newcastle and the 'big six', but not every player is driven by money.
Bruno Guimaraes could have left Newcastle many times over by now, but he's absolutely in love with the club and the city, and there's still no sign of him wanting to move on.
If a player signs up to a long-term contract with no release clauses, then they should be prepared to see out that deal, it's as simple as that. There's a right way and a wrong way to go about asking for a move, and Isak chose the wrong way, end of discussion.
