Much to the dismay of Newcastle supporters watching the tie at home, once Magpies academy prospect Bobby Clark made his appearance in a harsh reminder of our past owner.

The now 18-year-old was perhaps the final casualty of the poorly managed Mike Ashley Era, when he departed for Merseyside in 2021.

Before Clark there was Ivan Toney, and a girth of others, who were never given the opportunity to fully showcase their talents  in black and white – though it may feel refreshing to some to see improvements already under PIF & co.

Clark, son of ex-Mag Lee Clark, may himself look at the opportunity afforded to Lewis Miley – and to a lesser extent perhaps Ben Parkinson – and wonder where his career on Tyneside could have been.

It appears as though Klopp sees the youngster as a part of his future vision, rewarding the versatile attacker with a two-year deal last month, so let’s hope this is a mistake we don’t make again.

Interesting that “fans” still insist on blaming Ashley for the moving on of talented players. I somehow doubt that he was quite THAT hands on.

Interesting that “fans” still insist on blaming Ashley for the moving on of talented players. I somehow doubt that he was quite THAT hands on.
Any true fan will tell you that when it came to spotting and hanging on to talent Benitez was hopeless.
On the Spaniard’s watch Ivan Toney was loaned out 5 times before finally being sold.
Townsend went on to extend his career in style, Kevin Mbabu left to develop his true potential, Janmaat, Thauvin, De Jong, Armstrong, Mitro, and Jacob Murphy were all shown the door, either temporarily or permanently by Benitez.
Yet the author here insists on pointing the finger at Ashley, when he should really be highlighting Benitez’ inability to spot talent if it bit him on the ***!
Watching a podcast today a pro quite rightly pointed out give Benitez a huge amount of cash and he’ll bring you superstars, but ask him to shop in the bargain basement and he’s hopeless.