Back when Mike Ashley actually occasionally spoke to Newcastle fans - usually when he was backed into a corner - or had Derek Llambias attempt a charm offensive, we were told that Newcastle were going to be the new Arsenal. We would be sustainable, uncovering global talent and unearthing hidden gems in order to not have to spend the Earth, and giving wiggle room for profits to be made - it all sounded marvellous, and not at all like an excuse never to spend any money. At least initially, anyway. But then, the problem was that not even Arsenal stuck with the so-called Arsenal model. They now spend tens of millions on established players, as well as over-paying on as many already emerged talents, because the pay-off is greater and more immediate, and fans are less compelled to call for Arsene Wenger's head every three games. Or at least that would be their ideal situation, if they hadn't adopted another broken model... but that's for another article and another writer. So Newcastle followed suit - possibly aware that even as they struggled to qualify for the Champions League, Arsenal were just too successful to have as a target - and we were told by Llambias that we would now be following the Aston Villa model, and wanted to be competing for everything within five years. Again the problem seemed to be that the men making these bold agendas simply didn't understand what those other clubs' models even were in the first place, or why they were destined to fail. And fail the Villa model did too, as the only thing they've been competing for in recent years is their preserved Premier League status. Perhaps that's what Llambias meant all along? And now, with big moves apparently happening in the way the club recruit local talents, and the abandoning of a foreign youth policy that will close the doors on the potential for the next Tim Krul to come into the club (but also the next Yven Moyo), it looks like something else is happening to change that "strong foundation" we've always been told the club are striving for. Ashley now wants to pull in all of the best talent in the North East, and turn them all into Peter Beardsleys and Alan Shearers, so the club doesn't have to buy them later, and of course so they can be sold on at a massive profit, having only cost developmental fees. So what shall we call this new model? Is it really going back to the "old days" - and is that really something to be proud of when everyone else is looking at foreign youths? Should it be called the "Hotbed" model in reference to those olden, golden days? Or do we just openly acknowledge that it's just the Southampton model, because the club have no imagination and simply follow the en-vogue trends? How could Ashley ignore that profit the Saints made this summer? How could he ignore the Gareth Bales, Aaron Ramseys, Adam Lallanas, Luke Shaws of the world, and the fact that they came from a strong local youth policy? That's probably played a big part in the latest shift, but again, unless Ashley and his underlings oversee whole-sale changes in the culture of coaching and the quality of the staff, it's unlikely they're going to find and mould those talents into anything other than the next Haris Vuckic.
