Why I'm so excited for this summer, next season and beyond...

On May 31st last year, I wrote a piece for NUFCblog.co.uk & for the first time in years I felt able to not only reflect positively on the season just ended, but was happy looking forward to the coming season, instead of being subsumed with feelings of dread, hopelessness & the inevitability of little chance of positive change. Of course, that all changed with the takeover & it’s been fantastic ever since.  

One of the things I mentioned in that article was the outside chance of qualifying for Europe, having seeing the huge upturn in the team’s performance levels in the second half of the 21/22 season. It reminded me of the first season in the Premier League, with Kevin Keegan at the helm. With no extra European games as distraction we finished 3rd & qualified for Europe. This wasn’t an expectation, last May, but a possibility, with finishing in the top half of the table looking like a step in the right direction. The thing is, we not only qualified for Europe next season, but are in the Champions League! On top of that, we had a trip to Wembley! How mad is that?

We can look forward to at least six matches against top European teams. As we’re going to be in Pot 4, we will face one team from Pot 1, which includes Sevilla, Barcelona, Napoli, Bayern Munich, PSG, Benfica & Feyenoord, along with either Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig, or FC Porto from Pot 2.  

I can’t wait & I bet those teams are praying they don’t find us in their group & wherever we land, will no doubt be called The Group Of Death! I’m laughing away to myself at that thought!

Next season is going to be extremely difficult, though. We’ve made some fantastic signings in the last few transfer windows, have a group of players who’ve been completely transformed by Eddie Howe & his coaching staff, but this summer could determine how we continue to move forward. I have no doubt that the development of everything at Newcastle United will be on an upward trajectory, but the one thing that’ll be hardest, will be to repeat last season & finish in the top four again. We’re going to hope that we don’t lose players to injury & suspension & will need the squad players to come in & play their part in, what will be, a packed fixture list, especially if we progress in the cups. We all hope that whomever we sign will fit into our competitive squad, with everyone pushing for places & doing the business on the pitch. Not easy at all.

Last season we brought in Nick Pope, Sven Botman & Alexander Isak, with Elliot Anderson stepping up to the First Team Squad & Antony Gordon coming in January, along with the return of Martin Dúbravka. Gordon took the longest to bed in, but is finally looking like the player we hoped for. I’m not going to analyse every player, or look at how each one fits into the 4-3-3 system Eddie Howe has used, but I’m going to mention two players, the importance they have & what we may do moving forward.

We played some amazing football in the first half of the season, but some of the players started to look tired after the World Cup break & our form dipped slightly. The joy of reaching the final at Wembley was tainted by the red card for Bruno Guimaraes, following a VAR intervention, which looked to be a correct decision.

Bruno subsequently missed the matches in February against West Ham, Bournemouth & Liverpool, where we picked up 2 points from 9. All of the players were superb last season, but, for me, Bruno is the most important player in the team. We build from the back & he forms the apex of almost every triangle we play in, but also enters the focal point of the triangles to allow more options to form on the pitch. Everything goes through Bruno. Willock & Longstaff make runs off the ball to drag midfielders & defenders out of position, which creates space for Bruno, who appears at each side of the pitch, offering an overload down each flank. The fullbacks join in to create the triangles & Schär steps into midfield, now & then, offering an extra dynamic, but Bruno is the key.

Many fans, bloggers, journalists & pundits have stated that Newcastle need a player to sit deep to allow Bruno to do the same job further up the pitch. I didn’t think Bruno would move position,  thinking "Why change what clearly works?" The one thing that may change that is if Tonali signs for us. Now, instead of moving Bruno further forward, I think Eddie Howe could play them alongside each other, with one sitting as the other goes up the pitch. That's how Tonali's played for AC Milan. Maybe Maddison, or whomever else we sign, could play in front of those two. I may be wrong, of course, because only Eddie Howe knows what he plans to do, but I think that someone else will be the new key to our future development on the pitch: Alexander Isak.

Isak smashed his way into Geordie hearts, with an amazing debut performance against Liverpool. He looked world class. He had problems with injuries, of course, but his return to form was incredible. Isak has shown that he can play on either flank, or up front, where his close control & amazing deft touch not only allows him to hold the ball up for others, but where he can create space for himself, or take on defenders in a crowded situation. I think that Isak could end up playing a false 9, or number 10 role because of the ability he’s shown. Instead of just having everything come through Bruno, in deeper positions, I think that the baton could be passed to Isak to do the same, but further up the field, so that we create a double incenter of each triangle formed by the players.

This may sound crazy, but I see Isak as a player, who has the talent & insight on the pitch, with the ability to make lightning quick decisions, who can be up there with Peter Beardsley, for many the best footballer ever to wear the black & white shirt, or even Johan Cruyff, who was at the focal point of Total Football, which has evolved into how Manchester City play under Pep Guardiola. Isak also wears the number 14 shirt, which I bet is no coincidence.

Whatever happens, whomever we sign, whatever system we play, I can’t wait for next season & beyond.

On Saturday, 10th June 2023, Sam Fender announced to the huge crowd, almost all adorned in B&W that it’s a great time to be a Geordie! I totally agree!

It Doesn’t Really Matter…But It Does!