Newcastle United’s plight is good for Championship division

Jun 4 2009 by Ben Guy, The Journal

A PRESTIGIOUS football report has said Newcastle United’s relegation is bad news for the Premiership, but good news for the Championship.

The Deloitte Annual Review of Football Finance gives an account of top-level football finances, and makes predictions for the future.

And this year’s report states that, taking into account the club’s fan base and revenue levels, the top league will suffer as a result of last month’s relegation.

The report points to a “dampening of growth” for Premier League revenues that is likely to be caused by the club dropping a division.

But it adds that a club of Newcastle United’s size would be good news for the lower division.

And professor of accounting at Newcastle Business School, Richard Slack, said having a club of Newcastle’s stature would be good for the profile of the division.

He said: “It is good news for other Championship clubs in terms of home and away gates being boosted by people interested in seeing Newcastle United.

“But it is largely a prestige thing. There might be a bit more television coverage that some of the clubs would normally get, but really it is just good news for the division because it is another big club.”

And the expert added that being a big fish in a small pond could be bad news for Newcastle.

He said: “The problem for Newcastle is a bit like that encountered by Leeds United when they were relegated from the Premiership.

“To most clubs the game against Newcastle will be their big match of the season and they will raise their game, which is the same pressure that Leeds faced.

“That is worrying, especially when you consider the form shown by Newcastle towards the end of the season.”