Journalist Martin Hardy asks the question that many Newcastle United fans have been pondering as Alexander Isak mess continues
Newcastle United find themselves in a bit of a mess of their own doing right now, as Alexander Isak has spoken of his desire to explore his options amid intense transfer speculation.
While Newcastle hold all the cards in terms of his contract, the minute Isak starts to agitate for a move, there becomes a power shift.
We can't even say we blame Isak for what's going on right now, given that he was promised a new contract on better terms as an acknowledgement for his work, only for the person who promised him that to get the boot, and the new guy to go back on said promise.
Now, with Liverpool's relentless interest, having just won the Premier League and Isak knowing that he can earn so much more money at Anfield, of course, he's going to want to explore his options. Meanwhile, this ambitious project he signed on for is stuck in first gear with a dodgy clutch as every transfer opportunity evaporates before our very eyes.
Henry Winter has traced the Isak situation back to one key moment 12 months ago
Now, football journalist Henry Winter has hit the nail on the head with a post on X that questions if we'd be in this mess had Amanda Staveley stuck around?
"Many variables to the Alexander Isak situation – wages, sporting ambition, level of investment into “project”, PSR restrictions, turnover of sporting directors, attraction of Liverpool etc - but would it have developed to this breaking point had Amanda Staveley still been at Newcastle United? Staveley always seemed a respected conduit between players and board, always quick to intervene and smooth tensions. Isak's exploring options stance may prove unalterable. But, at the very least, Staveley might have been an early warning system for the board about Isak’s dissatisfaction. Newcastle seem to be drifting in a sea of PSR and distant owners. #NUFC"
It's easy to make the argument that it was Staveley's reckless spending that got us into that PSR hole to begin with, but it was a necessity at the time. We needed to overspend to get to where we are. Granted, it probably should have been a slower, more methodical process as we've clearly overachieved, but would you take that Carabao Cup victory away to go back and change things?
You can't deny that we miss Mandy!
Say what you want about Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi, but they got stuff done and they were well-liked in and around the club. Since they left, the communication from the club has been abysmal, the turnover in high positions has been awful, and our transfer activity has been shocking.
There doesn't seem to be any passion in the boardroom anymore. I mean, where's the stadium sponsor? The training kit and training ground sponsors? WHERE'S THE STADIUM ANNOUNCEMENT?
As we keep saying, we're fortunate to have Eddie Howe at the helm to keep things on the pitch ticking over nicely because everything off it has seen a rapid decline since Staveley and Ghodoussi were booted.
