Jamie Carragher has questioned Newcastle United's owners over their handling of the football club. The former Liverpool defender raised suspicions over whether the PIF have lost interest in the Magpies as he likened the impending rebuild to Rafael Benitez's at Anfield, 20 years ago.
Summer overhaul and new head coach
Newcastle are facing a summer overhaul after Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes led the key players departing this summer. New head coach Matthias Jaissle faces a hectic build-up to the new Premier League season, having taken over on the eve of the new season following Eddie Howe's departure.
The 48-year-old has claimed that Newcastle have made no real improvements to the stadium or training ground, despite receiving the green light from PIF to make changes around NE1, with alterations totalling £10million spent on improvements to the club's training ground.
Carragher's comments on PIF's interest
Carragher told The Overlap's Fan Debate, sponsored by Sky Bet: "Have the owners lost interest in the club? Because when I questioned it before about Liverpool’s people coming in, what can they do?"
"How rich they are. But they can do something with the stadium. They can do something with the training ground. Newcastle have still got no real improvement to their training [ground]."
Premier League opener and Benitez comparison
The Premier League campaign kicks off next weekend with Newcastle hosting Carragher's former club on Sunday, August 23, and Jaissle has already made a worrying admission that his side are not ready for the visit of Andoni Iraola's side.
Newcastle will have to make do without three of their key players in the rise to prominence, with a new-look Magpies expected as part of a rebuild. Carragher likened the current overhaul in the North East to Liverpool's under former manager Benitez.
He said: "It's funny - you're always shocked when a manager leaves in pre-season. I always felt this team was going to get broken up this summer, and I've said this before and I'll repeat it."
"I remember when a team gets to a certain level and it can't go any further, but there are players in that team who can. It happened to us at Liverpool - a team under Rafael Benitez, where we were getting to the semi-final of the Champions League, a Champions League final, competing for the league. As soon as we had one season where we dropped off, where we finished the season fifth or sixth – we had [Javier] Mascherano, [Xabi] Alonso, [Fernando] Torres – who were world class players."
"We weren't building Liverpool back up. I was frustrated at the time as a player, but I get it. When I stand back and look at Newcastle’s situation – [Sandro] Tonali and [Bruno] Guimaraes, they were better than what the team did. The team and the players have to grow together, and as soon as one drops off - or certainly the club - the players sort of move on."
