Newcastle supporters plan protest after full accounts reveal £34 million sitting in bank

An ugly situation is unfolding at Newcastle United after the club's full accounts for the end of the last financial year revealed more than £34 million sitting in the bank.

As detailed by the Guardian, £38.6 million was transferred into Newcastle's bank account as a cash-flow sum, a figure that paid off their £4.5-million overdraft and left £34.1 million available.

However, the club announced record profits of only £18.7 million for the 2013-14 season, angering many Newcastle supporters and leaving them wondering why the money wasn't used to strengthen their squad. As a result, a protest is planned for Sunday's fixture versus Tottenham that is being backed by the Newcastle United Supporters Trust.

"The accounts show that all this cash was generated and the question a lot of fans would ask is why was a significant portion of that not spent on team strengthening?" said Mark Jensen, who is the editor of online Newcastle fanzine themag.co.uk.

"The idea of a boycott has been building for a long time and you can't blame the fans, and I'm all in favour of it. It's a starting point where fans may feel empowered and make their feelings known.

"The frustrating thing for them is the money is there but the club won't spend it. Newcastle United are a club that should be in the top eight every season - that's the size of the club with the support base it has and the benefit of being a city with one club.

"We are going to fall well short of that this season and that equals failure in lots of fans' eyes. It seems that every transfer window the squad keeps weakening. People talk about Newcastle being a well-run business - that may be so in the short term but in the long term we have a squad which needs massive investment."

A similar protest took place more than two years ago in which Newcastle supporters voiced their displeasure at how owner Mike Ashley was running the club.