“I decided to send him home due to the speculation around him,” said Howe. “The last thing he wanted is to be sat in the stand watching, that wasn’t fair to him. But I’m confident he will be a Newcastle player come the end of the window.”
Like so many other things last season, things didn’t quite turn out the way Howe envisaged. The Isak saga rumbled on throughout the summer, eventually only being resolved on deadline day when the striker completed his British-record £125m move to Liverpool. Its repercussions were far-reaching. Not only did Newcastle lose their star performer, the player who could win them a game out of nothing, as he had on a number of occasions in the previous campaign, their stubborn refusal to see that the writing was on the wall long before Isak actually left for Anfield meant they found themselves scrambling around in an attempt to replace him.
Alexander Isak's protracted departure to Liverpool negatively affected Newcastle's season (Image: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)
The results of that were disastrous. By the time Newcastle finally persuaded Brentford to sell Yoane Wissa, the 29-year-old’s price tag had risen to an eye-watering £55m. Wissa’s knee injury, sustained while on international duty with DR Congo in September, was extremely unfortunate, but even if the forward had been available throughout the first half of the season, the Magpies had still paid way over the odds.
The same was true of new club-record signing Nick Woltemade, talented undoubtedly, but at £69m, a player who never really looked like he fitted into Howe’s preferred system or tactical approach. Was Woltemade a striker or a midfielder? Could he handle the demands of the Premier League? Almost a full year on, and neither question has been adequately answered.
In fairness to Howe, Newcastle’s shambolic off-field situation meant he was having to negotiate the transfer market pretty much on his own. Allowing Paul Mitchell to leave his position as sporting director without a replacement in place was a catastrophic dereliction of duty that was exacerbated by Darren Eales’ protracted departure as chief executive amid serious health issues. In arguably the biggest transfer window in their history, Newcastle’s senior leadership was largely non-existent.
Other transfer mistakes followed - £55m for Anthony Elanga, £43m for Jacob Ramsey, a hefty loan fee for Aaron Ramsdale – meaning that when the transfer window closed in early September, Newcastle’s squad was weaker than it had been in the season before, with most of the Isak money having been squandered. In hindsight, it is no wonder that what followed was so bitterly disappointing.
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Newcastle’s season was flawed on so many different levels. For the second time in three years, the Magpies couldn’t cope with the twin demands of remaining competitive domestically while also succeeding in the Champions League. The squad wasn’t deep enough for Howe to make the kind of changes that were needed, so by the second half of the campaign, key players were either injured or running on empty. By the time Newcastle crashed out of the Champions League, thrashed 7-2 by Barcelona in the Nou Camp, it was too late to turn their Premier League form around.
An inability to convert a lead into three points was another huge problem. Newcastle tossed away 27 points from a winning position, easily the worst record in the Premier League, as Howe’s tactics were placed under the microscope. Did Newcastle’s players drop deep and try to hang on to what they had because of tactical instructions or because they lacked the ability to kick on and extend their lead? Either way, they were involved in far too many matches where they were pegged back late on.
Their home form, usually such a solid bedrock, fell away. Between mid-January and mid-March they suffered home league defeats to Aston Villa, Brentford, Everton and Sunderland. It goes without saying that the latter loss, which saw the Black Cats complete a derby double after Woltemade’s decisive own goal at the Stadium of Light in December, stung the most.
There were some positives. The Champions League might have ended with a hammering in Spain, but the achievement of reaching the last 16 as a knockout round for the first time should not be downplayed. The 6-1 away win in Qarabag was a remarkable performance, as was the 4-0 victory at Union Saint-Gilloise in the first away game of the league phase.
Anthony Gordon scored four goals as Newcastle thrashed Qarabag 6-1 in the Champions League (Image: AP Photo)
Newcastle reached the last four of the Carabao Cup for the second successive season, losing to eventual winners Manchester City, and were unfortunate to draw City in the fifth round of the FA Cup. In terms of league games, the thrilling 4-3 win over Leeds and March’s 2-1 win over Manchester United, which came courtesy of Will Osula’s stoppage-time winner, were notable highlights.
Individually, though, very few Newcastle players were at the best throughout the campaign. Bruno Guimaraes, perhaps, whose absence in the spring highlighted just how important he remains? Osula’s development in the final two months of the season augurs well for the future, but the fact the striker was one of the few players to emerge from the campaign with credit speaks volumes given that he barely kicked a ball for seven months.
Anthony Gordon finished the season as the leading scorer in all competitions, but the winger had mentally checked out long before his move to Barcelona went through at the end of last month. At least, unlike with the Isak situation, Newcastle have acted decisively to solve a problem that was brewing.
Gordon might not be the only big-name player leaving Tyneside this summer, with question marks over Sandro Tonali, Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall. Maybe a clear-out is needed though. On a number of occasions last season, Howe was forced to concede that it felt as though an era was coming to a close, with a refresh surely required.
For a while, it looked uncertain whether Howe would be given the chance to turn things around. A growing number of supporters are agitating for a change, but the PIF, led by Newcastle chairman Yasir-al-Rummayan, have given Howe their backing. Unlike last summer, the Magpies boss needs his predictions for a rosier future to come true.