The feeling around Newcastle United right now isn’t great. Key figures inside the club have a lot of thinking to do while the fans question what has happened to them this season.
The fact that we have three weeks without another game when the mood is so low is terrible. It may be good for the players and the coaches as it gives them time to have a break and reassess things, but for fans, it’s going to be a nightmare.
It’s not helped either by the media pulling apart the derby defeat and creating their own narratives around the future of Eddie Howe and Newcastle’s top stars.
Even Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy has managed to spin Sunday’s derby defeat into a question over whether Newcastle can retain the services of players like Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes.
The former Liverpool man says Newcastle have regressed this season after a difficult summer and a poor transfer window, and that it could make things even more difficult for them this year.
“I think if you’re being brutally honest, if you look at the Newcastle side last year, getting the Champions League by their Premier League form, winning a trophy, they’ve regressed.
“I think losing Isak was a blow but then the argument is was the recruitment in the summer good enough? As of now, you’d have to say no.
“So, the recruitment, there’s a big question mark over that and then now you’ve got the problem where their top players, who are brilliant midfielders, when you’re talking about Bruno, when you’re talking about Tonali, is there a chance that they may be looking elsewhere?
“Because it’s not that Newcastle are not a great football club but the top players want to play Champions League, they want to win trophies.
“And those two players will be sought after by other clubs.”
We certainly don’t disagree with Murphy’s main point about regression this season, and if we’re being completely honest, he’s probably not wide of the mark when talking about Sandro Tonali.
What we can’t see happening, though, is Bruno Guimaraes turning his back on the club this summer. Not when he’s missed so much football through injury. Bruno seems like the kind of man who will feel responsible for Newcastle’s drop off because he hasn’t been available to help out.
Plus, he just loves Newcastle; he wouldn’t do that to us, right? RIGHT? Anyone else fancy another shot of copium? It’s my round.