Newcastle may have made a profit but fans just can't cash in

YOU can almost hear the sarcasm dripping off the comments by Newcastle fans who are 'planning' an open-top bus parade following news that the club have made an £18.7million profit. But amid that sarcasm is fury.

Things are looking up but Mike Ashley’s club are strictly mid-tableACTION

Things are looking up but Mike Ashley’s club are strictly mid-table

Newcastle did not sign one player in the summer. Instead, they sold Yohan Cabaye to Paris Saint-Germain for £20m.

Managing director Lee Charnley championed such profit making as the best way to strengthen the squad. But it has led to fans accusing the club – again – of a lack of ambition.

Newcastle are embracing mid-table mediocrity in the Premier League and were dumped out of the FA Cup at the earliest opportunity, losing to Leicester in the third round.

Still, what fan will care when the cash is swirling around?

Newcastle's revenues also increased by 35 per cent from £95.9m to £129.7m. More than half of Newcastle's income – £78.3m – came from the Premier League television rights deals, with commercial income also increasing.

Mark Jensen, editor of online fanzine themag.co.uk, said: "This has just provoked more questions than answers.

"There is £28.5m of costs for which there is no explanation. The wages-to-turnover ratio is also not included.

"We had anticipated a profit of about £50m, especially with Cabaye being sold.

Lee Charnley believes financial stability will deliver on-field results for the clubGETTY

Lee Charnley believes financial stability will deliver on-field results for the club

"The way that most fans look at it is that Newcastle didn't buy a single player in the whole season and sold Cabaye.

"Everyone knows how much these clubs are getting from TV so Newcastle fans would like to think more profit would mean more team strengthening but that has not been the case.

"There seems to be both a lack of transparency and ambition."

Not so according to Charnley, who claimed that the club's model is the way forward if Newcastle are to buy more players, something they also failed to do in the January transfer window.

Charnley said: "We believe financial stability will deliver on-field results for the club.

The way that most fans look at it is that Newcastle didn't buy a single player in the whole season and sold Cabaye

Mark Jensen

"This gives us a strong platform from which to grow, both on and off the pitch. As we move forward, we are able to net spend on the playing squad and invest in other areas of the business."

Ashley refused to claw back any of his £129m loan to the club, nor has he taken any other monies from the club.

It is the fourth successive year the club has made a profit and cements Newcastle's positions in financial terms as one of the most successful in the top flight.

"Newcastle fans flock to the streets in masses to celebrate their record profit win," tweeted one fan.

And you can understand their frustration.

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