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With the signing of Mitchell in the last few subsequent hours I've just spent transiting through airports and in the air it has give me a chance to take a step back and think about the whole run up to the end of the Premier Leagues tax year, the June deadline.

So clubs that do their business 'early', some dubious 'swaps', have been slightly questioned but seen as doing good business. Planned and managed well.

However, it could also be seen as panicking and making rash decisions. In project work, especially in the £10+ project world, a world I've worked and managed in for around 15 yrs, the deadline is the target. Coming in early isn't rewarded, there is no bonus for getting the job done before the 'go-live' deadline. On projects where things have all gone well and things do complete ahead of schedule is a sometime a nice bonus but often it turns out that something was forgotten or mistakes were made. Things were 'less optimal' that have a knock-on affect on future programs or the system is just missing functionality & is incapable of being optimised.

Once you get going with a live broadcast system (I build TV stations, studios & transmission networks) it is very difficult to perform major system changes. Millions of dollars for installation materials, cabling, conduits, connections & man-hours. Pulling up floors, cutting holes in load bearing walls, bringing in 3 phase power, huge H&S implications and insurance contract. Once the 'dust has settled' both physically and figuratively & the 24/7 broadcast format is rolling any major alterations are close to impossible.

During my career, I’ve been the guy who has turned F’up into a feature and generally been sent in to fix the mistakes of competitors and other project managers who have screw things up.

So, what am I trying to say?

From the outside looking in, the press has managed to highlight, based on information from people with an agenda to derail Newcastle United.

The ‘insider information’ Ornstein, Edwards et al, the ‘usual suspects’ have been spoon fed comes from the mouths of people close to Chelsea, Liverpool & Man U. What a surprise the press have had a field day with the speculation around Isak & Gordon. They tried and failed to do so with Bruno.

What has the club actually done?

Regardless of the figure required to achieve to comply with PSR the board have assessed the situation at hand, more than a month ago. Mitchell was part of the process reported when the midget went on gardening leave some 10 weeks ago. Very calmly they went about their business knowing they held all the cards and wouldn’t be bullied into making any rash decisions or giving away any advantages to Manchester United.

In reality, which of the two clubs Newcastle and Manchester is currently in a more stable, well organised and well-run state?

It’s Newcastle United obviously. Not even a contest. Of course, they have a huge advantage, they are freight train of momentum that began to slow down with the Glazers and really lost momentum since Fergi stepped down as manager. However, the size of the organisation has allowed them to throw money at the issues they are suffering at a systemic level and paper over the cracks with outlandish spending.