Howe confirms Saudi backing and reveals truth behind "complex" transfer frustrations

Eddie Howe has defended Newcastle's Saudi owners and ambition following a frustrating summer, insisting there is "no problem" with the amount of "backing or support" they're offering behind the scenes.

It's been a tough transfer window and fans are naturally concerned that we still haven't signed a centre-back or right-winger ahead of Friday's deadline. However, Howe has told the media that the amount of backing from above is not the issue and "never has been."

Instead, he admits that it's PSR and "the rules" that are holding us back, insisting that we have to plan so carefully to make sure we abide by FFP, with "every decision" having a "consequence for the future." As a result, it seems the club are having to be extremely careful, knowing we can't afford to get back into the mess we found ourselves in at the end of June.

"There's no problem with backing or support, there never has been," Howe said this morning. "It's the rules we're trying to abide by and every decision we make has a consequence for the future, so we have got to make sure we are making wise decisions and not leaving ourselves in a vulnerable position again further down the line.

"That's why these decisions are complex. It's not quite as simple as being backed. There's backing there. Everyone wants the same result at the football club, but it's making the best decisions for the long-term."

Mix the PSR issues with our wish to sign quality players who take Howe's first-team to the next level and you can see the problem. We want quality over quantity, but quality costs big money - and it seems (for PSR purposes) we don't have enough of it to play with to sign a top centre-back and right-winger this week.