As if Keegan didn’t have enough to worry about, his shower of a squad are robbing Newcastle blind

Just to add to Newcastle fans’ sense of indignation at the ritual suicide their team seems intent on committing, figures published today show that they are subsidising their “players” to the tune of an eye-watering £62.5 million annually.

That wage bill was an increase of 10% on 2006, due to the signing of Damien Duff, Obafemi Martins, Joey Barton and David Rozenhal. The figures, which appear in today’s Newcastle Chronicle (for full story, click here) paint a picture of an off-field performance that nicely parallels the current on-field fiasco.

Richard Slack, who lectures in finance at Northumbria University, said of the club under the pre-Ashley administration: “It was making a loss and owed more than it was worth. If the club had been a human being, they would never have been given credit and its house would have been repossessed by bailiffs.”

Experts believe businesses should spend no more than 50% of revenue on wages, while Newcastle are handing over 72%. Fans presumably have a lower percentage in mind, given the return they are currently seeing on their investment.