As we stand on the brink of a new Premier League campaign, Newcastle United go into their season opener, against newly promoted Southampton at St James’ Park, with the goal of embarking on a season which will achieve the club’s ambitions of returning to European football in 2025 and vanquish the long running drought without a major domestic trophy.
With five new incomings through the door during the close season — the standouts being the arrival of Lloyd Kelly on a free transfer from Bournemouth and youngster Will Osula from Sheffield United for an initial £10 million pounds respectively — it has been a relatively quiet summer transfer window so far in comparison to recent years. Since the takeover of the club in October 2021 by the PIF led consortium, the majority of transfer business has been concluded early in the window and included a big name or “statement signing” (written about in my previous blog) with the likes of Kieran Trippier, Sven Botman, and Sandro Tonali. However, despite predictable transfer rumours linking players of significant standing in football circles, no marque names have arrived as of yet. This is due to factors like compliance with PSR and the arrival of new Sporting Director Paul Mitchell which, whilst is positive news for the direction the club is heading, complicates matters as far as recruitment plans for the new season.
Even with the moderately quiet summer transfer window, manager Eddie Howe and assistant Jason Tindall have a strong nucleus of a squad more than capable, when fit, of mounting a serious challenge for the Premier League’s top four and qualification for the UEFA Champions League. As the squad is currently constructed, all but one player from the starting line-up that secured a 0–0 draw with Leicester City and qualification for UEFA’s blue ribbon competition in May-2023 are returning with the added benefit of a full week of recovery, training and preparation between the majority of matches this season. While the core of the first-team squad is intact from seasons gone by, a strong level of continuity remains within the dressing room. Partnerships and bonds between players are renewed, understanding of each other’s strengths and weaknesses is already there, and a familiarity with the manager’s training methods and tactical requirements remains. Whilst committing to big transfer deals and bringing in exciting new players to a football club is important for building a better squad, growing their brand, and marketing themselves to new fan groups, it is important we, as supporters, do not write off this group of players from achieving great things again. In particular one which has amassed 213 points from a possible 375 points, and achieved a 49% win rate in the 125 matches Eddie Howe has managed Newcastle United (source: transfermarkt).
I maintain the firm belief that the manager, coaching staff, and players can not only produce another fantastic season, and give supporters wonderful memories to hold onto, but can also achieve that coveted prize of Champions League football once again. However it’s important to recognise the club’s accomplishment in 2022/23 was not without a couple of external factors playing a significant role. The first of those factors was the element of surprise Newcastle United carried throughout the league campaign with many opponents unable to combat the more free flowing style in attack and greater pressure on the ball when defending — a contrasting change in approach to the previous season when counter attacking football was necessary. The second was the drop-off from other established football clubs that season with Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and particularly Chelsea going through greater adversity, dropping more points early on and finishing further down the table. With those factors in mind, it’s fair to say that as great as Newcastle United were in the 2022/23 season, they were also the beneficiaries of a clearer runway to a top four position come the season’s end.
Fast forward to this upcoming season and the landscape of Premier League has changed with a greater density of teams chasing the four places which guarantee Champions League qualification and greater revenue streams. While Manchester City and Arsenal are considered the main contenders for the Premier League title, several clubs including Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea will be amongst the main challengers for top four positions once again. Therefore, the greater density of competing teams means a greater number of hurdles for Newcastle United to overcome as they strive to reach their end destination. Whilst that destination is certainly achievable, with a favourable set of fixtures to open the season, it won’t come without greater difficulty and some bumps in the road.
Like many fellow Newcastle United fans, the domestic cup competitions are something for which I hold a great deal of value and affection, and would prefer to see the club win either the FA or EFL cup over a league championship. That preference is driven by the club’s history in cup competitions, and my personal history watching on as the club stood on the precipice of winning a cup on multiple occasions during the past three decades. Whether that was one of my earliest memories watching the club lose to eventual winners Everton in 1995, the back to back finals in the late-nineties, semi-final heartbreaks in the 2000s, or in losing to Manchester United in the 2023 EFL Cup final (whoever said I was a glory hunter when choosing to support Newcastle as a young lad was sadly mistaken). During the past few seasons, I’ve seen different debates among supporters online centring around the question of what supporters would prefer to see the club prioritise: UEFA Champions League qualification or a winning a trophy. Whilst I think it is a interesting discussion, with both scenarios having their own merits, my overwhelming feeling is that it’s a sad indictment of the current landscape of the sport at the elite level that this is even a question among supporters.
Growing up and developing a passion for football in the mid-nineties taught me the intrinsic value of a club winning the FA or EFL cup, whether it’s the glory felt by managers, coaches, players and supporters or the profile and headlines the club gains as a result of the achievement. However, with the increase of finances and globalisation of the sport, the attitude and mindset of many people has changed to what can elevate and make their club bigger quickly, with the mega riches that comes with participation in the UEFA Champions league deemed as a greater achievement than the glory and income generated from a successful cup run — something that former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger appeared to embody for many seasons. Ironically, an unintended consequence of the increased finances and globalisation is that clubs with the greater revenue streams and stronger squads have monopolised the domestic cup competitions over past two decades.
All that being said, If I was posed the question whether I would prefer the club to finish in the top four place in Premier League, or win the FA Cup and finish in mid-table, I would always choose the latter. The feeling of ecstasy, pride and joy at watching my team Newcastle United collect and lift a domestic cup at Wembley stadium trumps the feeling of achieving qualification to another competition as a result of a final league position that is anything lower than first place. If Eddie Howe and his team could do something that no team in a black and white shirt have accomplished since the late sixties, when television programming was also in black and white, they would go down in Tyneside folk law, achieve modern day hero status, and fulfil the dreams of supporters all over the world. Trophies should be what players and managers strive to achieve and it’s what we as supporters should want to witness above all else for the clubs we follow.
My expectation for the 2024/25, when it’s all said and done, is that Newcastle United will produce a season that will see them return to European competition, with a place inside the top six, (hopefully the top four), in the Premier League. With the extra time to prepare between matches, we could very well see marked improvements in form away from home, and in defensive statistics returning to something reassembling the defensive unit in 2022/23 that was considered one of toughest to break down. Whilst cup ties can be unpredictable and you never know what may transpire in a knockout competition, the one thing I no longer question in the new era is the club’s commitment to taking cup competitions seriously. Therefore, pending a favourable draw, I look forward to another good run in the FA or EFL Cup again this season.
When I evaluate the first team squad, there are two players I expect will deliver exceptional levels this season. Alexander Isak has shown himself to be one of the top performing players across Europe’s top leagues over the past 12 months, displaying consistent performances and being a regular contributor of goals and assists during a season of many highs and lows for the football club. I believe the 2024/25 season will see Isak continue to take his game to new heights, and improve on his previous tally of 21 Premier League goals. I would even be as bold as to predict, assuming he remains free of injuries, that he goes on to be the Premier League’s top goal scorer with thirty or more goals.
Another player who I think can, and will, take his performances to another level this season is Lewis Hall. The nineteen year old showed glimpses of the player he could be from the left-back position, in the waning weeks of the previous season, following a rough start to his Newcastle United career where he had to adapt to Eddie Howe’s style of play. After putting in good performances during the pre-season games, including the club’s tour of Japan, this has the making of a promising season ahead for Hall where I believe he will continue to improve his game as an all-round left-back, making the position his own as the season progresses.
It’s fair to say the build-up to the 2024/25 season has been a turbulent one in many respects for Newcastle United. The optics of a mini fire sale to comply with PSR, unexpected changes within the boardroom, uncertainty surrounding the manager and a slow transfer window have left many people wondering what’s in store for the season ahead. This is a season when bouncing back from the highs and lows of the year before is important to reassure everyone that the club’s trajectory is still upwards. However, as football has demonstrated on many occasions, there is no better remedy for matters off the pitch than positive results on it. With a kind set of fixtures to open the campaign, a ‘lighter’ workload with no European commitments and a settled squad of players, this still has the makings of a memorable season for Newcastle United, one that once again defies the odds and puts them back among Europe’s elite.
Dream: Winning a cup competition.
Hopeful: A top four finish in the Premier League.
Realistic: A top six finish in the Premier League.
Bold Prediction: Alexander Isak — Top Premier League golden boot winner.
My Point of Toon 
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