Newcastle CEO Darren Eales stepping down after cancer diagnosis

Newcastle United CEO Darren Eales has stepped down from position after he was diagnosed with a chronic form of blood cancer.

Eales, who arrived from MLS club Atlanta in August 2022, has made the decision after he was told by doctors of the extent of his illness.

The 52-year-old will continue in the job until a successor has been identified and appointed but has revealed he needs to walk away in order to prioritise his health and family.

It is understood that Eales does not need to start treatment until next year and could continue in his role for up to 12 months if a suitable replacement cannot be found.

“Being CEO of Newcastle United is an extraordinary privilege and I am incredibly proud to be part of the club’s exciting journey,” Eales said in a statement on the club’s official website.

“However, it has become apparent to me that now is the right time to make this decision so that I can prioritise my health and my family.

“In the short term, it will be business as usual in terms of running the club’s day-to-day operations, and I will give my full support to a transitionary period that will enable the board to carefully assess and appoint my successor.

“I want to extend my sincere thanks to the club’s supporters, ownership, players and staff. I’m proud of what we have collectively achieved and I’m excited to see what’s ahead for everyone as the club builds towards a future of sustained success.”

Eales arrived at St James’ Park 10 months after the takeover by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and played a key role in the appointment of Paul Mitchell as Sporting Director earlier this year. He was also crucial in the club’s scramble to avoid breaching Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules in June and has been a popular figure behind the scenes.

Newcastle United chairman, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, said: “All of us who are connected with Newcastle United are very saddened by this news. Our thoughts are with Darren and his family and we send him every good wish for a full recovery.

“On a personal level, Darren has been a great partner to me and to our fans, players, ownership and staff.

“On behalf of the club and its owners, I want to thank Darren for his service and dedication to Newcastle United. He has made a significant contribution to the club’s progress during his time as CEO, helping to build a strong foundation for Newcastle United’s success. We fully understand the difficult decision he has made.

“We will work closely with Darren to hand over the CEO role at the appropriate moment following a carefully considered search process, and he will continue to have the full support of the board and the Newcastle United family now and in the future.”

Catching up with Manchester City will take a long time, says Eddie Howe

Newcastle United have “unbelievable owners who want to do some amazing things” but manager Eddie Howe has once again warned it will take Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund a long time to close the gap on Manchester City.

Next month, it will be three years since the protracted and controversial takeover was ratified by the Premier League and progress has been slower than many people imagined when Newcastle were bought by the largest sovereign wealth fund on the planet.

Changes to the rules regarding related party sponsorship deals has prevented companies, linked to their Saudi Arabian owners, pumping money into the club to rapidly improve the squad.

That has made it far harder for Newcastle to repeat the sort of rapid growth enjoyed by Chelsea under Roman Abramovich and City under Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, with Newcastle struggling to comply with the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) earlier this year.

It led to the unwanted sales of winger Yankuba Minteh to Brighton and homegrown midfielder Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest and meant Newcastle did not sign a single player to improve their first team in the summer.

Having spent around £415 million on new players since January 2022 – initially to avoid relegation before qualifying for the Champions League at the end of Howe’s first season as manager – the lack of player sales meant Newcastle had to scramble to offload players they would rather have kept.

The board continues to procrastinate over a plan to rebuild and expand St James’ Park and there has also been no progress on a new training ground. These projects all fall outside of PSR limits and it is unclear why things have been delayed.

This weekend’s clash with champions City is a timely reminder that, for all the stated ambition of chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan to be the “number one” club in the country, the gulf between the two clubs remains massive, on and off the pitch and Howe insists people need to be patient.

‘There’s still a big ambition’

“I can only talk about Newcastle and what we’re doing,” he said. “And I think that we’ve got unbelievable owners that want to do some amazing things here.

“But these things do take time and I think there needs to be patience from everybody connected with the club in terms of how quickly we can move things forward.

“I know people will always want things sort of in the here and now, but the likes of the new training ground, new stadium plans, redevelopment of St James’ Park, whatever it is, takes time.

“And of course then looking at the team with PSR restrictions, that will take time as well. So, I think as long as from my viewpoint that we’re still trying to move things forward, develop the team in the correct way.

“There’s still a big ambition, then people can see progress and I think that’s a really positive thing. But it’s not easy at the level we’re competing against.”

Newcastle are sixth in the table after just one defeat in their five games this season, but they have not been playing well.

And Howe has warned his big name players, like Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton, Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon that they need to deliver more.

‘Everyone has to earn their place’

“The issue for me is,” explained Howe, “given a blank sheet of paper and you say ‘go on, write down what your best team is’, I don’t think that would be difficult for me. The problem is, you have to justify your selection, so those players have to be in their best moment and best form.

“What you can’t do is pick that team if it doesn’t deserve to play. I’m a big believer in rewarding people that are playing well.

“I’m a big believer in there’s no set team, everyone has to earn their place. If you’re not earning your place, you can’t play. So we’re in that moment, early season, where players haven’t been in their best form.

“It’s difficult to pick players if they’re not playing continually well. I’m at that stage now where I’m going to have to make some difficult decisions, I think.”

He added: “Your collective performance is always defined by the individuals within it, so if your individual players aren’t performing, you’re going to suffer, especially if they’re in the important areas of the pitch that make the difference.

“We need some people to step up within the team, and that will have a galvanising effect on the group and that’s what we need. I’ve got no doubt with the players that are in my mind that they can deliver that. There’s no reason why they can’t.”