One byproduct of Newcastle United finally excorcising their 56 year trophy voodoo against Liverpool on Sunday is an automatic place in the lowest rung of the European football ladder, the Europa Conference League. But now the Magpies will definitely be in Europe in some form next season, what would be the best competition for them at this stage in their development?
Of course, I know that most fans will be thinking this would obviously be the Champions League, the greatest club football competition in the world, but let’s think about it for a moment and weigh up the pros and cons of each.
Of course, in the world of probabilities, Newcastle would have a much better chance of winning the Conference League than the Champions League, or even the one in the middle, the Europa League. After all, if West Ham can win the Europa Conference, surely Newcastle United can too? Winning that first trophy after so long has been great, but a second win would really build their confidence and put them in good shape to have a go at the two big trophies, the Premier League and the Champions League, rather than just scraping into into the Champions and falling out at the league stage again. (more…)
Jacob Murphy and Miguel Almiron. Whilst Miguel Almiron and Jacob Murphy have been great servants for the club, Almiron with his energy, and Murphy with his big contribution last season in terms of assists (he was joint top with Trippier on 7), there is little doubt that in the front three, the Magpies are stronger on the left with Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes than they are on the right, a situation which was not rectified in the last transfer window, nor the one before that.
Whilst Gordon can also play on the right, he is now undoubtedly a very important player for the side and not playing him in his optimum position would be a bad compromise. On the other hand, Barnes is also a fine left winger who is too good to waste away on the side lines. That’s a slightly different discussion though. The question for this article is why, not for the first time, have the club failed to strengthen the right wing, whilst bringing in some players in positions that seem to be more well served? (more…)
Odysseas Vlachodimos. Whilst some of the signings by Newcastle United this season are predictable and understandable, like Lewis Hall’s move from Chelsea after a season on loan, and the signing of Lloyd Kelly, a decent enough utility defender who played for Eddie Howe at Bournemouth, there are some which seem slightly more perplexing though, at least initially. In this piece, I will look at some of these, starting with Newcastle’s current roster of five first team goalkeepers.
There are the two new goalkeepers, Odysseas Vlachodimos and John Ruddy from Nottingham Forest and Birmingham respectively. (more…)
Miguel Almiron: Our top goalscorer so far. I think it’s fair to say that Newcastle United have had a good season so far, including the first Wembley Cup Final appearence since 1999. I think it’s also fair to say that Newcastle’s league success so far relies on a golden period of nine games lasting from the beginning of October 2022 until the new year. In that time. In those 9 league games, they won 8 and drew 1. Almiron played in all nine, scored 8 and undoubtedly had the biggest influence in that winning run. When Almiron’s run ended, so did Newcastle’s and now things are back to where they were in the early part of the season, solid, disciplined and hard to break down, but with a distinct lack of goals at the other end. (more…)
Dan Ashworth and Eddie Howe. There is no doubt that Newcastle United have improved significantly in the last year. The expenditure has been considerable and so far, the new signings have been a credit to Eddie Howe and Technical Director, Dan Ashworth. However, the hyperbolic talk of how the Magpies are now the richest club in the world, a club which is about to brush aside even the likes of Liverpool and Man City aside is misguided.
The first reason of course is ‘Financial Fair Play,’ something that Chelsea, Manchester City and Paris St Germain didn’t have to worry about in the early days of their new wealth, but that has been discussed already. However, there is something else, whilst Newcastle’s spending has increased significantly, so has the spending of many other clubs in what was a record busting transfer season just gone. (more…)
