At this point Aston Villa and Newcastle United supporters are shouting at the clouds, knowing complaints about a broken system laughing in their face are futile.
The Magpies specifically are being pickpocketed in plain sight, a club with the richest owners in world football selling to a team who have finished 17th in back-to-back seasons.
“Cry more” is the Big Six response, for it is easy to laugh from this position. As in The Sims, the ladder has been removed from the swimming pool, and the powers above are watching those below them tread water.
It is now five years since the Saudi Arabia-backed takeover and Newcastle remain far behind Tottenham Hotspur in the pecking order because the restraints in place may never allow them to get ahead.
At this rate, Newcastle are even going backwards. Sandro Tonali joining Tottenham after Anthony Gordon departed for Barcelona means £169m to reinvest, but it will be be difficult to attract players who view joining them as anything but a stepping stone to bigger things – or even Tottenham.
