Newcastle United's owners have effectively had to work backwards since the takeover exactly six months ago but, come the end of the year, the hierarchy could have their desired skeleton structure in place. A head coach has, of course, already been appointed in Eddie Howe; a sporting director, Dan Ashworth, is on his way once the Brighton technical director serves his extended period of gardening leave; and a chief executive officer (CEO) will follow.
While speaking at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit last month, Amanda Staveley revealed that the powers at be had already spoken to some 'amazing candidates' for the CEO position and the part-owner hoped an appointment was 'not too far away'. Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi have effectively been operating as interim chief executives, themselves, in recent months, which has given the pair intimate knowledge of what they require.
While Staveley and Ghodoussi recognise they have not got the experience of other CEOs, the pair hope to support the new chief executive in an effort to achieve the club's long-term goals as soon as possible. So, as much as the owners want a figure with creativity and vision who will push them, whoever comes in will clearly need to be a collaborator as Howe has been and Ashworth will be. The owners, after all, are keen to retain the 'family' feel at the club going forward so that everyone, from top to bottom, continues to feel like they are playing their part and pulling in the same direction
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So what could the CEO's responsibilities be? Well, the duties of the role vary depending on a club's structure, but the chief executive will be tasked with: helping to set the tone of what Newcastle is going to be going forward; growing the club sustainably; driving commercial revenues; and putting the Magpies on the global map after years of missed opportunities in the Ashley era.
Central to that will be the idea of the 'journey' Newcastle are going on, which is a dream that has already been sold to Bruno Guimaraes, Kieran Trippier et al, and was the big attraction for so many would-be owners over the years. Indeed, ChronicleLive previously revealed that former Manchester United and Chelsea CEO Peter Kenyon told associates that the Magpies 'could be a global brand' as the 'last of the sleeping giants' when he tried to buy the club. Another former chief executive at a Premier League side, who was at the helm during his club's best period of success in decades, shared that view.
"The potential is based on eyeballs and also stories, and Newcastle has the opportunity to do both," he told ChronicleLive. "It's obviously fallen behind its international standing of prominence compared to some clubs in the Premier League to what it would have been 20 years ago.
"To an extent, that's just the nature of success. Are Newcastle really any different to what Manchester City were 15 years ago? If you were to look at Manchester City and Chelsea before the Roman Abramovich era, they were big clubs but they weren't internationally renowned clubs like Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal. I can certainly see the potential there at Newcastle.
"It's a combination of smart partnerships and success. Putting the two together and building on them is what will drive that forward."
It is all the more important that the new CEO helps secure such partnerships and sponsorship deals to ensure Newcastle can continue to operate within Financial Fair Play regulations, which look set to only allow clubs to spend a percentage of their income going forward when they are revised. Also, if Newcastle are to eventually follow the Man City multi-club model, the CEO will probably oversee it while he or she will also be heavily involved in any development projects like building a new training ground or expanding St James' Park.
In reality, no two days will be the same and whether it is merchandise, catering, pitch maintenance or personnel negotiations, the CEO will have a varied brief at Newcastle.
Those with experience of these sides of the business within the game have been spoken to, but the hierarchy are not ruling out bringing in someone from outside football who could offer something a little different. Whoever it is, the owners have to get this crucial appointment right.
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