What has happened to Newcastle United? A project dubbed the most exciting in Europe just a few years ago has gone stale and improvements must be made – both on and off the pitch – in a huge few weeks for Eddie Howe and our owners.
But what’s gone wrong? Who is to blame? What happens next?
For starters, 2024 has been a mess, summed up by this series of events from the end of May to the final week of the summer transfer window:
1. We missed out on Europe as Man Utd won FA Cup.
2. The Dan Ashworth to Man Utd saga dragged on.
PSR mess meant Minteh and Anderson were sold.
3. Gordon was in talks to join Liverpool before PSR deadline; a bad look for the club.
Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi’s sudden exit.
4. Paul Mitchell appointment midway through summer window.
5. Eddie Howe to England rumours.
6. Reported issues between Howe and Mitchell.
7. Marc Guehi saga wasted time.
8. No right-winger or centre-back signed.
9. Total lack of player trading and failed to move on certain players.
10. Went into 2024/25 season with zero momentum
The owners
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In the first phase following the takeover, everyone was singing from the same hymn sheet, our recruitment was superb and it felt like everything was clicking.
Three years on, so much has gone stale, which is inevitable if a club wanting to become ‘no.1’ in the world – Yasir Al-Rumayyan’s words – stands still in a Premier League full of clubs competing for those European places.
The owners need to do more to boost our revenues – PSR or not, they didn’t back Howe over the summer and barely made a first-team signing in 2024 – but the manager must find solutions and fast.
The manager
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Last season, Howe had his ups and downs but arguably did well to finish 7th in the circumstances. This time, however, there’s no longer the excuses of last season (injuries, fatigue, Champions League distraction), yet we are consistently inconsistent, lack a plan B, struggle against low blocks, allow our heads to drop too easily and rarely deliver 90-minute performances.
Yes, Botman is a big miss, we are sorely lacking a quality right-winger, we miss Trippier’s creativity at right-back (a huge part of our attack during 2022/23) and we’ve struggled to find balance in midfield, but this is still a group of players capable of far more than 12th. Howe is also responsible for finding solutions to some of the above and he’s struggling.
Two wins from our last 11 is bottom six form, not top-six and it feels like we’re going from one issue to the next. Post-Palace, goals were an issue. Since then we’ve scored five in two games against Liverpool and Brentford but conceded seven, showing alarming inconsistencies at both ends.
The players
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Away from the owners and Howe, the players must also up their game. I do wonder if some of our big guns have become a little disillusioned by the project they were once sold? Either way, they have to question why they were ‘at it’ against the current best side in the world last week, then allowed their heads to drop when things go wrong against ‘lesser’ opposition.
Sometimes it’s on Howe, who always finds a way to set us up correctly against the ‘big six’ at home but often struggles against a low block on the road, but some of the missed chances in games Howe has got it right to begin with (Brighton, West Ham and Liverpool come to mind) have been punishes by more individual errors at the other end, with us conceding so many poor goals against West Ham, Liverpool and Brentford.
What next?
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The final five games of 2024 are huge for Howe – this can’t continue and he’ll know it – but January is equally massive, with pressure on PIF and Mitchell to refresh a squad that has been allowed to go stale.
Personally, I think Howe needs backing not sacking. However, if we \*\*\*\* up this run of games and go into 2025 out of the cup and way off the top-six pace in the league, the Saudis may have second thoughts about investing in a manager who have ran out of ideas?
Here’s hoping Howe gets it right over the next three weeks and January signings help kick-start a season full of false dawns.