Football's gravy train is no longer calling at St James' Park. In a development that illustrates the austerity now in force at Newcastle United, members of the first-team squad will be obliged to pay for their own club suits from the beginning of next season. That old chestnut about cutting your coat according to your cloth has rarely felt more appropriate.

Mike Ashley, Newcastle's owner, did not become a billionaire through needless extravagance and, having wiped out the club's £70million debt last summer, he is now implementing a series of cost-cutting measures. A soaring wage bill is being tackled, and younger, hungrier players are being pursued in the transfer market. Michael Owen and the rest of the players are yet to be informed of Ashley's proposal but, given the scale of their remuneration, it would take a brave soul to complain too loudly. In the light of the travails of recent seasons, not many players can claim to have offered genuine value for money.

If self-sufficiency and a sense of responsibility are encouraged, then there may be positive dividends, although most supporters will be more concerned with any savings being channelled into Kevin Keegan's transfer kitty. To date, Newcastle have been only passive participants in this summer's market, offloading the likes of Stephen Carr, Peter Ramage and Emre Belözoglu.

Sunderland's summer recruitment plans have been thrown into confusion by Kenwyne Jones's knee problem, with the extent of the damage to the striker's ligaments not likely to become apparent for a number of weeks. A talismanic presence for Roy Keane's side last season, Jones has had two, inconclusive scans on the injury he suffered during Trinidad & Tobago's friendly defeat by England this month. The fear on Wearside is that he could be absent until Christmas.

“Radiological investigations have detected ligament damage, which will require several weeks of conservative treatment,” Sunderland said in a statement. “After this period, a further assessment will be undertaken to assess the full extent of the injury.”