Newcastle's gamble on Andros Townsend might keep them in the Premier League
Newcastle were sitting in the relegation zone on January 26 when they finalized a move for Andros Townsend. It wasn't the splashiest of moves, but it was a move that had been bandied about for weeks and the Magpies needed help. Any help. Even if it came with plenty of risk.
The Magpies bought Townsend from Tottenham Hotspur for £12 million, hoping that he could help them stay in the Premier League. But what if he couldn't and Newcastle went down?
Depending on which reports you believe, Townsend either had a relegation clause in his contract that would allow any club to snag him for just £8 million, or he didn't have a relegation clause at all.
So there was Option A: Newcastle take a £4 million loss -- not even accounting for the wages paid -- for four months of Townsend, all so they could be relegated anyway.
Or Option B: Because there was no relegation clause, Newcastle would be on the hook for Townsend's very expensive wages even in the Championship, where their revenue would be a fraction of what it was in the Premier League. That would make sorting out the club's finances and buying other players a chore, hurting the Magpies' chances of getting promoted back up to the top flight quickly.
It's not as if Newcastle were taking this risk for an all-world, incredible player, either. Townsend has 10 England caps to his name, but by January, his career had stagnated. He played just three Premier League matches for Tottenham in the first half of the season, never starting, and never got on the pitch often in the previous campaign. Townsend was a talented player with a dynamite left foot, but one who many believed was a one-trick pony without the mind to make it as a consistently effective Premier League player.
That is who Newcastle gambled a big financial loss on. And early on, it looked like it wasn't going to pay off. In his first two months at the club, Townsend managed just one goal -- a meaningless one with the Magpies down 5-0 already -- and suffered through injuries. Newcastle had fallen down in the table, checking in at second-to-last and a 3-2 loss to Norwich on April 2 looked like it might doom the team. But Townsend did get an assist in that match.
The following week, Townsend scored. Newcastle lost, but their January signing was finding his feet under new manager Rafa Benitez and the Magpies were starting to look better.
Then came a clash with Swansea on April 16. Just before halftime, Townsend delivered the assist that put Newcastle in front and then he found the back of the net on his own to cap off a brilliant 3-0 win for the Magpies; their first win in the league since February 3.
Since that breakout match for Townsend and win for Newcastle, the Magpies haven't lost. They drew Manchester City and Liverpool back-to-back, matches that most everyone had given them little chance of getting results from. Townsend was a force in both matches, and Newcastle got real hope that maybe they wouldn't suffer relegation after all. They were still in the drop zone, but they had pulled themselves into a battle with Sunderland and Norwich as the three clubs fought for one safety place.
That safety place, 17th place, loomed large when Newcastle squared off with Crystal Palace on Saturday. A win and the Magpies would leapfrog both Sunderland and Norwich, breathing the air of safety for the first time in months. But Palace made things difficult on Newcastle and the Magpies couldn't find a breakthrough.
That is until the 58th minute, when Townsend stepped to a free kick.
This strike from Newcastle United's Townsend is a MUST. SEE. #BPLonNBC https://t.co/fizKaEzmFU
— NBCSN (@NBCSN) April 30, 2016
With that goal, courtesy of that gifted left foot, Newcastle were ahead. They were in 17th place. They were safe.
Townsend, the man that Newcastle had gambled on months earlier had delivered them their first breath of fresh air since February and had them set to continue their brilliant run to another year in the top flight.
Of course, Townsend needed help. The Magpies defended well and Karl Darlow's terrific penalty save preserved the win for the home side, but it was Townsend's goal that proved to be the difference.
Newcastle still have some work to do. They have two matches left and will almost certainly need points against Aston Villa and Tottenham, as Sunderland and Norwich both have a match in hand on the Magpies, but no longer is this sad sack Newcastle. They are unbeaten in four, a run that not-so-coincidentally aligns with Townsend's best form of the season.
The Magpies risked £4 million, or maybe even more on Townsend. But it was all in the name of staying in the Premier League, and Townsend looks intent on being the man who keeps them there.
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