Yahoo News Newcastle United close to unlocking 2024 boardroom request as Magpies eye up £712m dream
Newcastle United fans watched on in the Champions League last night as two of their Group F adversaries marched on to the semi-finals of Europe's big prize.
AC Milan - the team that eliminated Newcastle from Europe this season - have 90 minutes to try to turn around a 1-0 deficit against AS Roma later this week as they bid for the semi-finals of the Europa League. And while the "Group of Death" well and truly lived up to its name for United this season, the truth is they did not disgrace themselves in their first taste of Europe for a decade, in fact they were desperately unlucky to go out after a dodgy penalty award in Paris cost them dear.
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In a strange way, watching both PSG and Borussia Dortmund go through against Barcelona and Atletico Madrid respectively offered both a reminder of how well Newcastle had equipped themselves to take it to the last few minutes of the group stages and a suggestion that Eddie Howe's team are not too far away from competing at the top level in continental competition.
The Magpies, with key stars back from injuries, are showing that two or three good summer signings can give Howe's side a different dimension. When Howe's team slumped to 10th place in the Premier League only last month, there was no panic in the boardroom about the head coach.
However, one thing behind the scenes that has been consistent since the turn of the year has been the requirement for Newcastle to earn a place in Europe. In years gone by, the Europa League has often been looked at as a bit of grind while many sceptics saw the Europa Conference League as an even bigger threat to the domestic programme.
Yet the sight of Jose Mourinho proudly holding the Conference League trophy in its first year and then West Ham's glorious trophy lift last May has altered perceptions of the competition for the better. In the eyes of Newcastle's CCO Peter Silverstone and CEO Darren Eales, getting into Europe is a must because of the prize money it yields.
Eales spoke about the importance of netting extra money for FFP this season and said: "We grew revenues by 39%, with an increase in TV money, improved sponsorship deals and a sharper focus on everything we are doing across the club.
"We continue to make progress each day as we strengthen the foundations of the long-term project that we are developing here at the club."
But as Newcastle posted increased revenues of £250.3m, the release of Man City's accounts underlined the potential as they revealed a new best of almost £712.8 million. It shows there is plenty of distance to run for Newcastle.
True, Europe is not going to inject ridiculous amounts of cash into the coffers compared to the Champions League prize pot of around £16million that will show up on club accounts at United next time around. But winning the Europa Conference League is worth around £12.25m and lifting the Europa League brings in north of £15million and playing in Europe season in, season out has to be the aim now on Tyneside.
And that's before you throw in gate money and all of the other trimmings that come with the big European nights at St James' Park. With six games left, Newcastle potentially have their hands on the prize for a European place and depending on whether England scrapes the fifth spot for another Champions League place, the story for Howe's team could get even more magical before the season is done.
Watching the grande finale of the European season will have given Eales, Silverstone, Howe and the players plenty of food for thought going into the Premier League campaign's run-in. Big prizes are certainly up for grabs now.
