[Photo Credit to Pixabay]
[Photo Credit to Pixabay]

Newcastle United F.C. took away Manchester United’s hard-fought 3rd place spot in the Premier League after their 1-0 victory against Fulham F.C.

They continue to surprise football fans with an exceptional performance against predictions and odds.

The club, made in 1892 as the only professional football team in its region even until now, is on an unstoppable rise after the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund’s takeover.

Although the team has 4 Premier League trophies, they were all before the 1930s, marking 2022 as their 95th year with an unchanging record. 

Starting from the mid-1990s was a more dynamic sequence of events, contrary to the relatively static period after their last 1st place season in 1926; Alan Shearer, the record holder for scoring the most goals in Premier League history, has been part of the team for a decade since 1996 until 2006.

Additionally, sir Bobby Robson, a manager regarded to be one of the best in football history, has officially finished his career as part of Newcastle. 

Despite having such giants on the team, Newcastle F.C. was relegated to the second division in 2009.

Fortunately, they returned to the Premier League immediately after, but many fans still recall the year as the historical worst for their team.

October of 2021 brought changes to Newcastle, as prince Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud, Saudi Arabia’s successor to the throne, practically became its new owner. 

Unofficially known as the ‘richest man on the planet,’ many theorize that prince Mohammad’s net worth can go up to nearly 2 trillion dollars depending on how his oil assets are measured. 

The football club before prince Mohammad’s takeover was at 19th place in the Premier League - a ranking that would have almost surely gotten them relegated - but rebounded up to 10th place after the event. 

During the winter transfer market, they recruited five new players, including Kieran Trippier from Spanish powerhouse Atletico Madrid, and Bruno Guimaraes, a Brazillian prospect. 

In the following summer transfer market, they recruited five more - mainly defenders and goalkeepers - preparing the upcoming Premier League season.

So far, this 2022-2023 season for Newcastle is looking better than any they had in the past several decades; Their only loss was against Liverpool, one of the ‘Big 6,’ and many of the club’s key players were out due to injuries.

The history of oil billionaires entering the football scene is longer than many think, with the famous Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan taking over Manchester City F.C. in 2008. 

Like Newcastle, Manchester City thirsted for a trophy for nearly five decades and won 6 titles after the takeover. 

Due to new rules established over Man City’s buyout, there is a cap on the maximum amount of money that clubs are allowed to use in the transfer market, making Newcastle unable to make multi-million euro deals that fans have expected.

However, many experts say the takeover could’ve positively impacted the club’s players, managers, and overall image.

Newcastle is currently showing a massive victory streak in the Premier League, with all five recent matches colored green; if they can keep up, it will go down in the history books as one of the most spectacular football events in the last few years. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alvin Song
Year 10
North London Collegiate School

 

 

 

 

 

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