Simon Jordan says why Eddie Howe won't be the man to deliver the Premier League title to Newcastle United
We are four years into Eddie Howe's tenure as Newcastle United manager and the former Bournemouth man has already delivered the club's first silverware in over 50 years.
The Carabao Cup may be seen by many as the lesser of the domestic trophies, but it is still a trophy and one that many, many clubs would be more than happy to have their name etched onto.
Now it all becomes about growth. Can Newcastle build on that cup success and add more prestigious silverware to the cabinet?
More importantly, how far away are Newcastle from realising the PIF's dream of lifting the Premier League trophy?
Simon Jordan has changed his tune about Eddie Howe over the years
According to talkSPORT's Simon Jordan, they're a long way off. However, unlike the early days of Eddie Howe's reign when Jordan felt that he simply wasn't good enough to lead Newcastle to glory, now Jordan believes it's purely about the obstacles that are in his way.
When Jim White asked if Eddie Howe would guide Newcastle to the Premier League title, this was Simon Jordan's response:
"Not because Eddie's not the man to do it because the runway that he's going to have to do it on is not going to give him the opportunity to do so. He can't build a football club in the way that Man City were built and the way that Chelsea were built because they don't have the financial wherewithal, given the governance to be able to compete with these guys.
"Arsenal at five or 600million, Liverpool at 5 or 600 million, Man City at 5 or 600 million, Man United at 5 or 600 million, Newcastle at 300 million. How are you going to be able to build the scale with PSR governance in the timeline unless he's going to be given a job in perpetuity for 10-12 years, which he won't be because circumstances will change for him. Then I don't see how he wins the Premier League. I don't see how he wins the Champions League because he can't fight fire with fire."
Newcastle are completely hamstrung by the Premier League's restrictions
We certainly appreciate how Simon Jordan has changed his mind about Eddie Howe; we have to agree with him on the roadblocks that stand in Newcastle's way.
Chelsea and Manchester City had it far easier after their takeovers, but there have since been so many measures put in place to stop that from happening again that it doesn't actually matter who deep our owners pockets are; that money is effectively cut off to us when it comes to spending power on the pitch.
Of course, the PIF can do things to increase the revenue at the club. A bigger stadium is certainly one thing, but whether we'll see that happen in my lifetime is becoming increasingly unknown.
Newcastle can certainly build to a point where they will be competing for the Premier League title, the question really is whether Eddie Howe will still be here when we get there. He's worked miracles before, but this one may just be out of his reach.
