Big changes need to happen at St James' Park in the coming months, but some departures may be less welcome
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe has some big decisions to make(Image: James Marsh/Shutterstock)
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As the tumbleweed descends upon a season of much promise and total let down one burning question needs to be asked: what must be done this summer to rebuild faith and hope? I can hear the collective shout from all Geordies: EVERYTHING!
Certainly Newcastle United have taken a massive step backwards in our drive towards becoming a football powerhouse capable of winning the Premier League title by 2030 (yes unbelievably someone actually said that).
Instead of looking optimistically towards the horizon we are faced with multiple questions needing to be answered as a matter of urgency by all who must take responsibility.
This close season will make or break United for the immediate future and beyond. Because the mistakes of a year ago must not and can not be repeated.
Maybe no games can be lost during the summer months of hopefully sunshine days on the beach but it is still the most important period of 2026 because, get it wrong, and United are deep in the mire of mediocrity.
So what needs to be addressed? First and foremost United have to get their buying policy right and that puts Ross Wilson firmly in the glare of the spotlight. Eddie Howe floundered on his own last summer with no one of authority to help following a catastrophic period behind the scenes which led to an equally shambolic performance in the transfer market.
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This time we need to cut out panic buying, ruthlessly target those who matter early doors and not as an after thought late in the window. We need above all a quality centre-forward who is a natural goalscorer and to sort out a goalkeeping department which frankly has no depth or assurance. Then we require a right-back, cover left-back, an injection of pace at the heart of an ageing defence, and a midfielder who can dominate and turn the flow in our direction.
It may seem ridiculous to demand a striker when United spent all of Alexander Isak's £130m on two replacements but wrongs must be righted and we got it spectacularly wrong. Without a centre-forward of punch and power it is virtually impossible to win any baubles as United found out.
Outgoings must be ruthlessly addressed as well as incomings. United must allow Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schar and Emil Krafth to leave with our grateful thanks. Oh that we could turn back the clock but sadly we cannot.
We have tried far too often in the past and paid a price. Age catches up with all. Howe doesn't have the word 'goodbye' in his dictionary but it had better be discovered. John Ruddy and Mark Gillespie ought to take the long walk too.
Senior members of United's current defence are OAPs by footballing standards - Tripps is 35, Schar 34, Dan Burn 33, and Nick Pope 33. Back up Ruddy is 39.
Next we must accept the coin for a massively raw Will Osula if we can get anywhere near the £30m Eintracht Frankfurt were willing to pay a little while back which I doubt. He is not the answer to our dreams and shows no signs of becoming it despite his wonder goal against Man U. If someone is feeling generous then Yoane Wissa can go too.
Other departures will probably follow including a couple of United's blue-chip players. Tino Livramento and Anthony Gordon are thought to be the most likely though Sandro Tonali could be another. Even two who care greatly, Bruno and Lewis Hall, could be thrust into the frame in World Cup year.
The likes of Livramento and Gordon know there are suitors out there and a ready made excuse is available - no Champions League football. While none of us like player power it is the way of the world we live in and Newcastle must not be caught out as they were with Isak. United flexed their muscle and swore defiance only to capitulate when it was far too late to do anything constructive.
What else? United must address the thorny question of getting the best out of their iffy signings a year ago. They must hope that a pre-season denied him 12 months ago transforms Wissa from a walking liability into the performer he was at Brentford before age rusts his legs and that somehow they can find a pigeon hole that fits record buy Nick Woltemade and gets the best out of him while camouflaging his short comings.
As for Anthony Elanga, he is a coaching challenge who needs to learn to get his head up after his blistering runs and pick out an attacker rather than flash the ball across goal at 100mph in the hope something latches on to it by chance.
Malick Thiaw requires work on cutting out his occasional mistakes which an Italian journalist tells me always haunted him at AC Milan and become the Rolls Royce he otherwise is.
There is of course a hidden agenda - can United continue to play the high octane, high press game that Eddie Howe champions or has it run its course? Is there a need to adopt a completely new approach? I repeat what I said in my last column - Eddie reminds me of Marcelo Bielsea who initially produced great excitement at Leeds but eventually found his preferred tactic unsustainable.
Which brings us to Howe himself. He stands accused and defended in varying measures by those on the terraces which is the way of the world though it must be said that some of the players he stoutly defends in pubic have let him down, us down, and themselves if they care about reputation.
United have sacrificed a staggering 22 points from winning positions this season which tells you one of two things (or maybe both) - United either cannot keep up the relentless style Howe demands for the full 90 minutes or they collectively lack bottle when challenged.
The manager often pays the ultimate cost. The players never - they merely pick up the threads under a new appointment or get a lucrative transfer to another club.
Study closely the body language of each and every player as the season draws to a close and decide who is dying for the cause spilling every drop of blood and who is just dying for everything to end. Isak revealed all in the last few months of last season without saying a word.
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