David Hopkinson's Newcastle prediction and admission over stadium plan

WHAT do Newcastle United want to be, just over four years after the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) completed their takeover of the club? It might seem a strange question to ask given the wealth of the ownership group and the lofty ambitions that were espoused when Mike Ashley was finally removed from the boardroom. But do those ambitions still burn as brightly as ever? Or has reality set in and Middle Eastern interest waned? In another four years, where will Newcastle be positioning themselves?

“By 2030, I see this club being in the debate about being the top club in the world,” said recently-appointed CEO David Hopkinson, when asked that exact question in an upstairs room in Shearer’s Bar, having spent the previous hour holding court on stage in front of 1,000-or-so fans at