Toon would have spent £645,000 on Sunday’s abject performance

Championship football beckons for Newcastle United next season, but if Alan Shearer chooses to stay on (whatever happened to Joe Kinnear?), he could find himself lumbered with even more headaches off the pitch.

The Daily Mail have published their ideas on how much the Newcastle squad take home every week and it makes for some toe-curling reading (Xisco is on 50 grand a week…Xisco.)

At £74m, Newcastle have the 5th highest wage bill in the league with a worrying wage/turnover ratio of over 70%. The £41m (40% of last year’s turnover) made from TV and media deals will be cut to nearer £3m in the Championship and, depending on whether the Geordie faithful keep St. James’ Park filled next season, much of the £30m match-day income will be hit as well. It doesn’t take an genius to realise much juggling will need to be done in Newcastle’s accounting department this summer to prevent a Leeds-style financial disaster. Still want the job, Alan?