Remember those heady of Joe Kinnear as Director of Football at Newcastle United? No players signed, selling Johan Cabaye for a pittance, almost signing our players on loan at other clubs, chatting to random people at the training 
ground he thought were coaches about players that didn’t exist, pissed-up phone-calls to Talksport and so many lost i-Phones. Great days! An inspired Mike Ashley decision!
Well, one of the areas Kinnear was brought into develop were the club’s training and academy facilities. This is what the Newcastle United Director of Football, Joe Kinnear (I know, I know) said in 2013 whilst outlining new plans which were accompanied by drawings and everything:
‘This is a hugely exciting development for Newcastle United. We have one of football’s great stadiums and we are delighted to now be announcing plans for a training complex which will rival any in Europe. Top players and top teams need top training and medical facilities. Our current training ground has served the club very well, but the new complex will give us all of the ingredients that we need to continue maintaining and enhancing the performance of elite footballers. It will also be an added attraction when we are looking to recruit players. The current intention is that work will get underway in May 2015 and, when complete in early 2016, the Magpies will occupy one of the finest training facilities of its kind in Europe. While existing training pitches and a modern indoor training hall will be retained, the club’s current training centre building will be demolished and replaced by a much larger, high-tech structure. It will accommodate newly-designed changing, training, rehabilitation, medical, leisure and catering facilities and will also introduce the latest aquatic technology to the site, with a 20-metre swimming pool, a hydrotherapy and fitness pool and specialist equipment to aid injury prevention and recovery. The new construction will also create a fitness centre double the size of the Club’s existing gymnasium, as well as administrative space, a presentation suite for match analysis and a new media suite‘ – Joe Kinnear, 1/Dec/2013.
Full details about the plans from 2013 are still online ‘ click here
Here is a report in The Mirror about Planning Permission being secured from North Tyneside Council in October 2014 – click here
Anyway, fast forward to March 2019:
‘No player has turned around and said they will not sign because of the training ground. Would I prioritise now ’20m to improve the training ground or for players in the team? “I’d say improve the team‘ ‘ Lee Charnley.
Lee Charnley has described United’s current training facilities as ‘fit for purpose‘ in 2019. That’s something of a retreat from the brave new world outlined by Joe Kinnear six years ago.
Lee Charnley would also put the Newcastle United first team in the hands of John Carver who came within a whisker of getting the club relegated in 2015 but finished the job by appointing Steve McClaren and dithering over sacking him before securing relegation in 2016.
Lee Charnley has just had his salary trebled.
