Newcastle icon hits out at ‘unfair’ rules for stopping huge transfers | Football | Sport

Former Newcastle United star Lee Bowyer has launched a scathing attack on the financial regulations that he argues have hampered the club’s ambitions. Eddie Howe’s squad are one of several Premier League sides forced to tread more carefully in the transfer market due to the league’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR). The Premier League implements PSR to cap the losses clubs can sustain, imposing a £105million ceiling on losses across a three-year span. Greater emphasis has been placed on the rules in recent seasons following points deductions handed to Everton and Nottingham Forest during the 2023/24 campaign.

The subsequent summer saw Newcastle offload Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh to Forest and Brighton respectively to generate revenue, despite having competed in the Champions League. The latest transfer window proved equally disappointing for Newcastle, dominated by Alexander Isak’s move to Liverpool, and Bowyer argues the financial constraints are stopping the club from realising their potential.

“I can’t say a bad word against Newcastle at this moment in time because – as a club – their hands are tied,” Bowyer told Ladbrokes at the launch of Ladisfaction. “And it frustrates me, obviously I played for the club and the fans were unbelievable up there… and I feel for them because it’s not fair.

“I don’t think it’s fair when you look at the clubs who have thrown money around left, right and centre, over the last 20 years, and they’ve all been able to build unbelievable squads who are capable of challenging for titles.

“Now Newcastle have the money to be able to do that but they’re restricted; they’ve finally got someone who has the money to help them compete, but they’re not able to spend it, and yet still they’re actually managing to compete with the top teams in the division. That’s why I think Eddie [Howe] and Jason [Tindall], and the rest of their team, are doing an amazing job, with their hands tied behind their back.

“They’re having to duck and dive, and work magic with what they can do, and I don’t think it’s fair. You allow all of these teams to go and spend all these millions and build these amazing squads, and then you go and change the rules? To me that’s not right.”

Bowyer famously featured for Leeds United during their big-spending era when the Yorkshire club made major signings and competed in the Champions League before encountering severe financial difficulties. PSR regulations were brought in to stop similar scenarios from occurring. However, the former midfielder has maintained that Newcastle‘s scenario is much different.

“If you’ve got an owner who is proven, and you know they have all of this money, then why are you restricting them?” he argued. “I’ve been in the kind of situation where owners have come in and said they had millions and millions of pounds to spend, and when they’ve come through the door, they’ve had nothing, and as a result they’ve put the club in bad trouble financially.

“But that’s not the situation at Newcastle; everyone knows these owners have billions, so you’re just restricting a club that wants to be successful.”

Bowyer, who featured 98 times during his three-year stint at Newcastle, believes the limitations being imposed on the club demonstrate that the regulations require overhauling. Newcastle ended their trophy drought by winning the Carabao Cup and qualified for the Champions League last season. However, Bowyer fears that the financial restrictions placed on Howe’s squad will make it difficult to reach the next level, putting a ceiling on their ambitions.

“I think it’s so wrong. You can’t just change the rules after everyone else, because now Newcastle face a near-impossible situation in trying to catch up to the other teams,” Bowyer explained. “And somehow they’re still up there, trying their hardest and finishing in the top four.

“I just don’t think they have the strength in depth within their squad to go and compete in the Champions League, and then play on a Saturday. I think they will have the odd slip up here and there, and we’ve already seen that a few times this season, but it’s down to strength in depth, and that’s not something the other top, top clubs in Europe have to worry about.

“So, yeah, I think on the whole they’re doing an amazing job, I really do. And I’m pleased that they’re up there, I just wish they’d be able to spend a bit more money to make it fair, you know, so they can really compete the same way everyone else has been able to do in the past.”