'They're never': Jamie Carragher risks the ire of Newcastle fans yet again with hyperbolic comparison
The news of Dan Ashworth wanting to leave Newcastle United and head to Manchester United is dominating the football news right now.
It's no surprise then, that Jamie Carragher has weighed in on the situation and once again let his mouth run before his brain has had a chance to do anything.
We're not saying that what Carragher is saying is wrong, but it's just the way he says it, like he is deliberately trying to anger us.
Speaking about Dan Ashworth's imminent departure on The Overlap, Carragher hit on the difficulties Newcastle face trying to break into that "top six" because of FFP, but again, it's not what he said, it's how he said it.
Jamie's words won't go down well
In full, this is what Carragher said about Newcastle (h/t Newcastle World):
"When Newcastle's owners came in and people were talking about the investment being huge, I was never, from a Liverpool point of view, thinking 'this is the new team in town' or 'this is going to be another City or Chelsea'. I think it's more difficult now with FFP.
"I do think Newcastle had such a great season last season but they have almost hit a ceiling a little bit when you think 'how do you make that next jump?' People will look at some of the players they've got and Dan Ashworth, and maybe even Eddie Howe at some stage.
"If Gareth Southgate leaves in the summer, you'd imagine the FA would go for Eddie Howe, wouldn't you?
"I think that's a big blow for them {Ashworth leaving]. Newcastle are a huge football club but they're never going to be Man United so if Man United come for one of their players or a manager or sporting director they're going to go and I think it's a great appointment."
It's funny Carragher says we've hit a ceiling when his mate Klippety said we didn't have one
So picking it apart piece by piece here, the first statement is fine. It's absolutely true that FFP has stifled any chance of us catching the "greedy six" any time in the near future. It was always apparent that a rise to the top wasn't going to be as easy as when Chelsea and Manchester City did it.
In terms of hitting a ceiling, again, yes we have, but that is a ceiling imposed upon us by the Premier League and its cartel, that ceiling only exists because of FFP and the rules that have magically popped up since the PIF took over our club. Mind, wasn't it Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp who said we didn't have a ceiling? Make your mind up.
The FA can come for Eddie Howe all they want, but now with Dan Ashworth out of his way, there'll be a lot less friction behind the scenes at the club so he's going to be even less likely to want to leave.
Finally, this is the one that's going to spark outrage - "They're never going to be Man United". That's the most Sky Sports sentence that's ever been uttered. Man United aren't even Man United any more. They're surviving still off the legacy of Sir Alex Ferguson, but that's crumbling away beneath them. We are miles off their status, I'm not naive or blinkered enough to deny that, but our trajectories are very different right now.
Sure Jim Ratcliffe might get everything right and Man United could become the powerhouse they once were, but right now that's a huge unknown whereas our upward trajectory is very clear to see. So to say we'll never be Manchester United? First of all, good, because they're an odious club, but more importantly, you can't see the future, Jamie.
