Following a fan event where club figures including David Hopkinson spoke, the CEO briefed journalists to confirm that a new stadium quite literally isn't on the horizon and that improvements to St.James' Park are now proposed:

"One of the things we are reviewing right now is that we’re going to be here, in something like the current format, for years.

"I think that there are some things we’ve maybe not done because we’ve been waiting for the bigger decision. I think we’re going to think about the next phase of our lives, and recognise that there are things we need to do now with regard to the stadium issue.

"Recognising that we are going to be at St James’ Park in pretty much its current format for years to come is important: we’re thinking through what improvements should we make in that intervening period.

"I want to be really clear on this. We have not taken a decision on what we're going to do.

We're modelling a multitude of different scenarios, but even if we were to make a decision tomorrow, which we're not going to do, it still takes years of permits, planning, finance, construction etc.

"That's the case whatever we choose - re-imagining St James' Park or building a new stadium. Either takes years and years.

"I lived through the total transformation of the Bernabeu. I was around through years of work. I love what they've built - I think we've learned a lot from studying what they've built - but these projects are years long.

"Even if we could wave a wand right now, and wake up tomorrow morning with a decision over a brand new stadium, those revenues would still not show up for five years.

"But if you look at something like global partnerships and global sponsorships, which I've talked about a lot, then we can do that today. We can literally wake up tomorrow morning and get cracking on closing some of those obvious and less obvious opportunities.

"So much of this is self-help, and so much of our ability to increase our revenues, and therefore our competitiveness, is within our purview right now. They're right in front of us, right now.

"I don't know to what extent that that will sustain us beyond 2030, without a major inflection - stadium renovation or rebuild, other major changes. But what I'm focusing on is what we do need to change between now and 2030? Our plan is to set us up to succeed in these next four or five years, and then it's also about what steps are we taking to make sure we succeed beyond 2030?

"But recognising that we are going to be at St James' Park in pretty much its current format for years to come is important. We're thinking through what improvements should we make in that intervening period? We could make tweaks and changes to improve the here and now."

Turning to the Darsley Park training ground:

"When you look at the facility you have today, it's probably a seven out of 10. It gets the job done. I don't think we have a lot of world-class talent that say: 'I want to stay here because of the training ground' or 'I want to go to Newcastle because of the training ground'.

"Even with the renovation we're doing, which will make it better, we probably only get to an eight. We don't get to a 10. We can't get to a 10 on the current footprint, which is the reason why we're considering - not considering, planning - a very big investment to go and build a 10.

"If you look at the arms race that training grounds have become - in the Premier League, in football, in North American sports - the players are spending an inordinate amount of time there and the expectations have changed and evolved from simply where we train to: 'Yeah, that's where I drop the kids off because they're being babysat while I'm training' or 'This is where the car is being looked after' and 'This is where I get my haircut'.

"This is what's happened in North American sports, and now there are changing expectations here too of what players are going to want in order to choose to come here or stay. Those are the investments we're going to have to make to get to a world-class level."

Speaking about his ambition for the club:

"By 2030, I see this club being in the debate about being the top club in the world. That’s where I see us by 2030 — and that kind of progress doesn’t take as long as you might think.

"What it takes is clarity of conviction. First off, we need to be totally aligned about the fact that that’s what we want to do. We have to have the courage to ignore those that doubt us, and even those that laugh at us, because there will be some.

"I've done it with a total underperformer, and that's definitely not what Newcastle is. Newcastle is already good. I've worked at a club that was really bad, lost all the time.

"In 2014, we lost just about as bad as you can. In 2019, we were having a parade. So, it's eminently doable, but it takes that clarity, conviction and commitment.

"We want more cups. That is how you define success. Eddie (Howe) is special. My job is to help Eddie succeed in his job.

"Can Newcastle win the Premier League? Yeah, of course. Why not? Our job is to set ourselves up to be perennial contenders.

"This is a tough league, and the correlation between points earned and revenue is undeniable, so, again, so much of this is self-help and doing everything we can to try to increase our ability to compete by driving revenues.

"I love the reference to 2030 because if it's not time-bound, then it's fantasy. It's where do we need to get to by the end of 2025? Where by 2026? 2027? Where are we ahead, where are we behind? What's our mitigation plan? How are we adjusting things?

"What I will not tell you is that we have written the plan for every granular element that's going to happen between now and 2030. But what we have got is a highly specific direction of travel and key milestones that need to be hit.

"We're not going to win by accident. We're going to win because we've been thoughtful and strategic about the organisation we've constructed, whose sole purpose is to win.

"We have some gaps. Very shortly, we'll be in the marketplace looking for a chief strategy officer. We'll be looking for a chief marketing officer. With Pete's (Silverstone, ex CCO) departure, we're going to take the opportunity to think about whether we should have someone focusing exclusively on revenue. I want to make sure that we're recruiting world-class talent.

This season's FA Cup Third Round draw will take place on Monday from 6.45pm on TNT Sports, ahead of the Second Round tie between Brackley Town and Burton Albion.

Ties will be played on and around the weekend of Saturday January 10th, coming between Newcastle's PL home game against Leeds on Wednesday January 7th and PL visit to Wolves on Sunday January 18th.

NUFC in FAC3 - last 10 seasons:

2024/25 Bromley (h) won 3-1
2023/24 mackems (a) won 3-0
2022/23 Sheffield Wednesday (a) lost 1-2
2021/22 Cambridge United (h) lost 0-1
2020/21 Arsenal (a) lost 0-2aet
2019/20 Rochdale (h) won 4-1 (replay)
2019/20 Rochdale (a) drew 1-1
2018/19 Blackburn Rovers (a) won 4-2 (replay)
2018/19 Blackburn Rovers (h) drew 1-1
2017/18 Luton Town (h) won 3-1
2016/17 Birmingham City (h) won 3-1 (replay)
2016/17 Birmingham City (a) drew 1-1
2015/16 Watford (a) lost 0-1

PS: There's FA Cup Second Round action in the region this Sunday, when National League Gateshead host League Two leaders Walsall at the International Stadium.

That's a 3.30pm kick-off and all-ticket, with no walk-up admission on the day. Tickets available online here

We have limited stocks of Keith Colvin Smith's biography of Magpies legend Colin Veitch, a 200 page hardback book published at £35. These are now on sale for just £10 + delivery*. To reserve copies, email [email protected]

PS: It's last orders also for two softback books by club historian Paul Joannou; the 2022 "Ultimate Who's Who" supplement and "Newcastle West End - the complete record" from 2023. Each book costs £10 + delivery.

* due to book size & weight, UK delivery only possible

NUFC have published guidance for the club's forthcoming Champions League tie in Germany online here

Included in that are instructions for travelling fans to follow giving them free public transport access on matchday.

NB: that unlike Marseille, Leverkusen don't allow mobile phone power banks of any description into the ground.

NUFC continue emailing match tickets for next week's Champions League fixture against Leverkusen out, with further batches of tickets arriving on Wednesday.

They are downloadable in digital format - note that those downloads don't work on desktops, should anyone be attempting to do that for some reason.

From OM, Thursday - interesting that they mention the Paris police, who we'll be renewing acquaintance with in 2026:

Olympique de Marseille has taken note of the statement published by Newcastle United FC following the Champions League match played this Tuesday at the Orange Vélodrome.

The Club reiterates that the arrangements for the arrival and departure of visiting supporters were finalized well in advance of the match, in close coordination with the Paris Police Prefecture, UEFA, and Newcastle United FC itself. This system, compliant with UEFA standards, was meticulously implemented and proceeded smoothly.

Olympique de Marseille also wishes to remind everyone that it deploys significant human, technical, logistical and financial resources at each match to guarantee opposing fans a quality welcome and optimal security conditions.

The Club also emphasizes that no specific incidents or alerts were reported to it by Newcastle United FC during the evening of the match, nor by their representatives present at the stadium, nor in the hours following the match.

Furthermore, the feedback sent to our department by UEFA after the match confirms the quality of the security measures implemented and their effective operational execution.

Olympique de Marseille reaffirms once again its unwavering commitment to the safe travel of its own supporters and, consequently, its dedication to providing away fans with a suitable and secure environment. Therefore, the Club cannot accept that its responsibility be wrongly called into question.

Finally, the Club wishes to commend the rigorous and coordinated work of the Police Prefecture, whose actions ensured the smooth running of the event and the safety of all supporters.

From NUFC, Thursday:

We will be formally raising our concerns with UEFA, Olympique de Marseille and French police in relation to the unacceptable treatment of our supporters by police at Stade Vélodrome following Tuesday's UEFA Champions League fixture.

Following the final whistle, our supporters were required to remain in the stadium for a period of up to one hour on the instruction of local authorities to ensure their safety when leaving the stadium.

Plans were in place to move 500 supporters at a time, with a police escort to the Metro station for onward travel to Place de la Joliette.

Our supporters were in good spirits despite the disappointing result and waited patiently and without incident during the holdback period.

The post-match operation was observed at close quarters by our stewards and senior staff.

'Unnecessary and disproportionate force'

Once the first group of supporters was released, the police began using unnecessary and disproportionate force to stop the remainder of our fans from moving any further. This was actioned through a combination of pepper spray, batons and shields, with numerous supporters being indiscriminately assaulted by the police.

Many supporters were visibly distressed, particularly in the upper concourse area of the away sector, where crushing became apparent.

Our staff immediately addressed the matter with the police, however this had limited impact on their excessive tactics.

Fans leaving the stadium rightly shared their distress, frustration and anger with our staff, and we have subsequently received deeply concerning witness reports from supporters who were in attendance.

Supporter safety and welfare should always be of paramount importance, and we strongly condemn the treatment of our supporters by the police during this incident.

Next steps

We will be calling on UEFA, Olympique de Marseille and local authorities to formally investigate this matter to ensure lessons are learned and this behaviour is not repeated.

We are continuing to liaise with the United Kingdom Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) as we gather evidence on behalf of our supporters.

Were you in attendance?

We would like to hear from supporters affected by this incident as we collate as much supporting information as possible. This will also be shared with UEFA, UKFPU and the Football Supporters Europe organisation.

Supporters who wish to share their witness report should email [email protected]