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Loads of Newcastle fans have been reacting to some comments from managing director Lee Charnley, who says the reason the club have not invested in the training ground is because they are spending the money on the pitch.

As much as Rafael Benitez was desperate for an increased transfer budget at Newcastle, he was also intent on improving the infrastructure and training facilities at the club.

He revealed as much in an open letter in The Athletic this week, saying: “Newcastle’s board had a year to sort out my contract but, when we met after the end of last season, they didn’t make me a proper offer.

“They told me they didn’t want to invest in the academy or the training ground – if they like, I can explain the reason why Mike Ashley refused to do that.

“Their idea of a project was a policy of signing players under 24 and, in my opinion, the budget available was not enough to compete for the top 10.”

The Magpies’ training facilities and academy, which are extremely poor by Premier League standards, have long been a point of fan contention, and the Toon Army are now fuming at Charnley’s excuse for the lack of development.

He said: “You go and spend it on the training ground it means there is less to spend on the team. Spend it on the academy, there is less to spend on the team."

Of course, Charnley and the infamous Mike Ashley have overseen the departures of players like Moussa Sissoko, Ayoze Perez and Georginio Wijnaldum, and until this summer the average annual net spend at the club under Ashley was just £2.6m per year.

So, if the club are spending an average of just £2.6m per year on transfers, and aren’t investing money in the training ground and infrastructure, where exactly is the money going?

That’s exactly what fans are asking, as you can see from the Twitter reactions down below…

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