Magpies’ salaries put off Sam Allardyce

Jun 20 2009 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

IN a worrying sign of things to come for Newcastle United, Sam Allardyce is set to resist the temptation to re-sign any of his former Magpies players because he is not prepared to match their wages – even after seeing his coffers swelled by £18m yesterday.

Six months later than expected, Blackburn Rovers have reportedly agreed to sell Roque Santa Cruz to Manchester City. Allardyce has already started planning how to spend the £18m they will receive, but has discounted the idea of using any of it on United players.

Allardyce is an admirer of many of the players Newcastle would like to off-load this summer – after all, he signed plenty. But his old club’s high wage culture has put them beyond the reach of his current employers.

It is another sign that, with only a handful of exceptions, the reality of the credit crunch is starting to take hold on the Premier League. That will make selling Newcastle’s array of heavily-paid players a difficult task.

The Magpies will be anxious to move on as many as possible, if not all, of the 15 players thought to have been earning over £50,000 a week at St James’s Park last season.

With only Michael Owen and Mark Viduka out of contract and no provision in the remaining deals to cut wages now the club is in the Championship, the nightmare scenario is that United could find themselves paying players to represent other teams, rather than take on their entire wages themselves.

With interested parties continuing due diligence of the club, such considerations are still some way off. Newcastle have no manager and until owner Mike Ashley can agree a sale, no leadership.

But once the power vacuum is filled, pruning the squad will be a top priority. There have been optimistic noises from St James’s about a quick sale but perhaps more telling is news that Chris Hughton has been sounded out about taking caretaker control of the team for a third time in under 12 months.

The former Tottenham Hotspur defender claimed just five points from the ten matches he oversaw following Kevin Keegan’s departures and Joe Kinnear’s illness – three of them came just hours after Kinnear was rushed to hospital.

His second period as a reluctant caretaker is widely seen as having been an important factor in Newcastle’s relegation, though it was by no means the only one.

Such is the malaise at the Gallowgate that the Magpies have been held up as an example to rivals – of how not to run a

football club. Brendan Flood, operations director of Burnley – one of those who will replace United in next season’s Premier League – said: “When you see clubs falling apart, Newcastle for example, most people would lay the blame at Mike Ashley’s door.

“He has probably mis-managed the club in a sense and that has drifted down to the players. There is a lot of disharmony there. It is about getting the belief and the stability at the top, getting a positive way of thinking, getting people who surround the players and make them feel good about being there.”

The lack of leadership has not stopped the Magpies belatedly organising pre-season fixtures. Newcastle will be the visitors when Dundee United launch their centenary celebrations in August. It is the fourth match of their pre-season preparations to be announced and the first outside the north of England.

The venue will at least hold fond memories for older members of the travelling contingent. It was at Tannadice Park that Newcastle began their defence of the Fairs Cup with a 2-1 win.

The club has been marking the 40th anniversary of their last major trophy success this summer. United also played there en route to winning the more lightly-regarded Texaco Cup in 1973-74.

Ticket details are yet to be announced.