THERE was a misplaced general consensus that Newcastle United would have lost out on a healthy payment if their Premier League match with Chelsea had not gone ahead last Sunday.

From the moment the announcement arrived from St James’ Park on Saturday night that the Magpies were “doing everything they could to keep the game on”, it was widely suggested it was because they were desperate for the appearance fee from Sky.

Newcastle, however, did not stand to lose around £500,000 if the match with the champions fell foul of the weather.

Each of the 20 Premier League clubs actually have an initial share of a pot of more than £1bn, which is the equivalent of ten televised matches at the set rate of around £500,000 per game.

Whether or not Newcastle reach the ten matches, they receive the set amount, as will Sunderland, regardless of whether their game with West Ham United goes ahead at the Stadium of Light tomorrow.

If Newcastle’s game at West Brom is given the go-ahead tomorrow lunch-time, they will have played eight Premier League matches in front of the Sky cameras this season. That is the figure which owner Mike Ashley will be looking at with interest.

Once Newcastle, or any other top-flight club, hit the magical ten number, they then stand to earn an additional £500,000 every time they play in front of the Sky cameras.

You see, it is the race to reach double figures that chairmen are thinking about, not the fact they stand to lose out on a one-off match windfall during the big chill.

SUNDERLAND chairman Niall Quinn has had better weeks. If having to put on a brave face was not enough to contend with after enduring the disappointment of England’s World Cup bid failure, he has also had his problems with the weather.

In fact, just 24 hours earlier, as he embarked on his trip over from Ireland for Thursday’s gathering at the Stadium of Light for the result from Zurich, he faced enormous frustration.

Having successfully boarded the 55-minute flight to Newcastle, everything was going to plan on Wednesday afternoon.

He was unable to land at Newcastle, so the plane diverted to Leeds, where it circled a couple of times and had to divert west to Manchester for similar reasons.

Eventually, with the icy conditions also preventing a landing at Manchester, the flight diverted further west to Liverpool, where he successfully touched down.

After a three-hour drive to the North-East, five hours after leaving, he finally arrived at his destination.

And to think, a flight from Dublin to Liverpool would have taken 30 minutes… WHILE on the subject of Sunderland, it has emerged that manager Steve Bruce is now looking at the possibility of installing undersoil heating at the club’s Academy of Light training ground.

Planning permission was recently passed for the construction of an indoor pitch to help house the youth teams in bad weather, but Bruce has concerns that an overuse of such an area for his first team would increase injuries.

And having spent the last few days having to train on the Stadium of Light pitch, there is now a belief that installing undersoil heating like that which kept Middlesbrough’s match on with Hull last weekend is necessary.

AT Hartlepool United’s AGM this week, the chairman’s statement included the news that Russ Green, the club’s former chief executive, has been helping the club with some projects.

Green left Victoria Park alongside Chris Turner in August. The pair looked set to team up again at Sheffield Wednesday, as Pools’ former boss fronted a planned takeover.

When the Middle East consortium fell through, Turner was left somewhat high and dry.

Green, however, who left Pools on amicable terms, looks ready for a permanent return to the club.

His position has yet to be filled and, if the weather hadn’t put paid to last weekend’s game with Yeovil, or today’s with Southampton, he would be back in his regular seat in the directors’ box.