Les Ferdinand: "When I signed up at Newcastle in 1995 the club was going places.Sir Les Is Well Wide Of The Mark!
Les Ferdinand: "When I signed up at Newcastle in 1995 the club was going places."In my two years up there we finished second twice in a row.
"At that point somebody really needed to come in and build on it and invest heavily.
"Had they done that, I think it would have been a different story and they could have been challenging with the real big guns.
"It never happened, but talk of relegation is both unthinkable and almost feels unspeakable.
"It's just so hard to believe that it could really happen and hard to take in.
"Football has changed, and while Southampton, Norwich and Charlton have all slipped into League One, it doesn't have to be the case for Newcastle.
"Look at Birmingham. If you are willing to invest and stick with your manager, you can get back in the Premier League.
"You just have to invest your money wisely. If you pay sensible money for he right players I think it can be done. And for Birmingham it has succeeded.
"It will be interesting to see the situation at the end of the season.
"I think Mike Ashley needs to look at it, get the finances in and then have a complete overhaul.
"It needs looking at from top to bottom."
Newcastle invested heavily in a whole host of players (Luque, Boumsong, Owen, Marcelino, Maric, Bramble, Parker, Emre, etc) who didn't make the grade.
It's the managers to blame ... because the money has been spent.
As for using Birmingham City as a role model - HE HAS GOT TO BE JOKING!