Newcastle Red Bulls: Why a new era may dawn slowly in the north-east

Jamie Noon's explanation of the excitement around Red Bull's imminent takeover of Newcastle is succinct - but accurate.

"I just can't imagine Red Bull coming in and doing a half-arsed job," says the former England centre, who made 203 appearances for the club.

"That's not their style.

"There is huge potential there and the investment Red Bull are making won't just be financial, but also the expertise and professionalism from other sports."

It is hard to argue with Noon.

Given Red Bull's record of turning struggling football and Formula 1 teams into superpowers and heavyweight investment in top-end cycling and ice hockey, the Austrian energy drink giant is surely not going to stand for scraping the bottom of the Prem for long.

Newcastle fans are certainly dreaming. When the club opened season ticket sales last week, they recorded the highest demand for 10 years, up 197% on 2024's first-day trading.

Some of those sign-ups might hope to see something akin to the star-studded line-up Noon joined in 1998.

Back then, bankrolled by Sir John Hall, England stars present and future Rob Andrew and Jonny Wilkinson turned out for a title-winning Falcons side, along with British and Irish Lions John Bentley, Alan Tait, Tony Underwood and Doddie Weir, and All Black code-crosser Va'aiga Tuigamala.

Noon, who now works as an agent in England and France, warns that a return to those heady days may not be immediate.

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