Black and white: Newcastle and Spurs compared

The authoritative Swiss Ramble compares the finances of Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United since Mike Ashley bought Newcastle in 2007.

Both clubs have focused on profit. Newcastle have essentially broken even during Ashley’s tenure with £4m aggregate profit, while Spurs have reported an impressive £215m. Worth noting that £188m of that came in the last four seasons, when Newcastle had a £47m loss in the Championship.

Revenue at Newcastle has fallen by £1m since Ashley’s arrival from £87m to £86m, deflated by the lower money in the Championship. In the same period, Tottenham Hotspur's revenue has tripled, rising £203m from £103m to £306m. In fairness, Newcastle's 2018 revenue will be much higher (£175-180m estimate).

In the last 11 seasons Newcastle received a hefty £627m from central Premier League distributions, but this is £231m less than the £858m Spurs received. The two relegations to the Championship during Ashley’s reign have really hit revenue, accounting for £142m of the difference.

In the 11 seasons before Ashley arrived Newcastle qualified eight times for Europe, including twice for the Champions League group stage, but have only qualified for the Europa League once since, so they have only earned a paltry €5m. In the same period Spurs have earned €179m.

Newcastle United fans are very loyal, but match day income has dropped £10m from £34m to £23m in the Ashley era (partly due to a ten per cent ticket price reduction in Championship). Over the same period Tottenham Hotspur income has grown by £10m from £35m to £45m, partly due to lucrative Champions League matches. This will increase even more when the new stadium is finished.

Despite Ashley, attendances held up very well for Newcastle in the Championship with crowds of over 51,000, nearly 20,000 more than the closest challenger Aston Villa 32,000.

Commercial income almost halved from £28m pre-Ashley to £15m in 2017. Partly due to outsourcing catering in 2009, though other revenue streams are basically flat, put off by the Sports Direct brand. In the same period Spurs have more than doubled commercials from £34m to £73m. This is a crucial revenue stream for a club hoping to compete at the highest level.

Newcastle enjoyed the fifth highest wage bill in England before Ashley’s arrival in 2007, but since then this has risen by just £20m (34%) from £60m to £80m in 2017 (excluding one-offs). In contrast Spurs have almost tripled wages from £44m to £127m (up from £100m in previous three years).

One criticism leveled at Ashley is that he has not invested in infrastructure (stadium and training ground), which is borne out by the feeble capital expenditure – only £10m in 10 years.

Most fans are more interested in how the teams fare on the pitch and this is where Newcastle have suffered. Only one place separated the clubs in Ashley’s first season (Spurs 11th vs. Newcastle 12th). While Spurs are now regularly in top 4, Newcastle have only once been better than 10th.

The Swiss Ramble concludes, 'Tottenham Hotspur have done well financially and improved on the pitch, while Newcastle have thrown away the advantages they had when Ashley arrived in 2007. No regular qualification for Europe plus two relegations to the Championship have really hurt the club.'

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The Political Economy of Football V2

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