Newcastle United have been hamstrung by the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, while two rivals have now been punished.
While Newcastle did not have any money to spend in January unless they sold some of their players, two other Premier League clubs have felt the wrath of the profit and sustainability rules.
Everton were the first to receive a points deduction, and are six points worse off than they should be due to breaching the rules.
Now a second team has been punished, with Nottingham Forest receiving a four-point deduction. It means they are now in the relegation zone, with Luton Town moving up to 17th.
While Forest will not be happy with the decision, it is not the biggest punishment in the world. They are only one point behind Luton, and will be confident that they can still avoid relegation.
And this has led to an interesting theory from the Telegraph’s Luke Edwards, who has take to X to discuss the points deduction and what it could mean for Newcastle United.
Luke Edwards poses interesting theory about Newcastle United and PSR
Following the news of Forest being docked four points, journalist Luke Edwards has presented an interesting theory on how Newcastle may now feel about PSR.
He wrote: “I wonder if #nufc look at four point penalty and six point penalty handed out to Nottingham Forest and Everton and think, you know what, let’s just spend big in one window, improve the squad depth dramatically even if it means we breach PSR threshold and see where that gets us? Would that be a more sensible strategy long term than having to sell to buy in the summer?”
Newcastle need PSR rules to change
As Edwards points out, Newcastle are not going to do this. Even after seeing Everton and Forest’s punishments, they are not going to lavishly breach the rules and simply suffer the consequences.
But it is an interesting theory, and one that Toon fans will buy into, given how frustrated they are with the current system.
It clearly is not fit for purpose. Newcastle are being held back, despite having the finances to press ahead and challenge the elite. We have seen Gary Neville call for a change, with clubs up and down the Premier League being hindered by these rules. It has created a situation where teams are having to sell their top players, or move on academy stars. That is wrong – the aim of the game should be to produce your own talent, but not just to make a profit.
Once again, PSR is going to be an issue for Newcastle this summer. It is something that the owners will be very mindful of, and they will be well aware that selling a major name like Bruno Guimaraes could give them the financial freedom they crave.
That is wrong, and a lot of fans would rather suffer a points deduction than sell Bruno…
