The first two weeks of this Newcastle United season has, for me, been a little bit of a damp squib. My expectations were that we would cruise to a top four/five finish just like we did the season before last. That Newcastle United would beat Southampton 8-0 on the opening day and we would be everyone’s dark horse in the Premier League race. The doubters would feel stupid and those pundits who predicted us to finish outside the top six, would need to hang their heads in shame and have to go find a proper job. I predicted that Liverpool would struggle post-Klopp in the same way that Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea did when they swapped out Old Red Nose, Wenger and Mourinho for Moyes, Emery and Avram Grant respectively. Chelsea would be awful because they would have to reinvent themselves all over again and any preparations for their assault on the league would be delayed by at least three weeks, while the new manager learnt the names of his squad of players.
However, two weeks into the season, that bubble of excitement has burst. The feeling is like when you set up your Fantasy League team and think to yourself, “This is it, can’t believe I got this wonderful squad for 100 million quid. Let me check out the prizes because this team is going to blow all others away.” Then after game week one you’re using your wildcard.
This realignment of expectations isn’t a bad thing though. I’m learning to balance the negative thoughts I now have with the silver linings I can see in those clouds. I listen to all the NUFC podcasts available so that they can tell me everything is going to be alright in the end and that we shouldn’t read too much into the start of the season. Then I hear Alan Shearer’s ‘England-esque’ doom and gloom and that sends me right back. My optimistic/pessimistic swing gauge rotates like a helicopter rotor blade but that’s par for the course when you follow the Toon.
A Sense of Unease
I must admit I am concerned about the lack of signings and the squad depth overall. I’m also worried about the mood in the club. A couple of years ago there seemed to be a huge togetherness within the team as we battled to fourth place. This season it feels different for lots of reasons. There seems to be a few disgruntled players such as, Trippier, Barnes and Gordon, if we believe rumours.
I also have the feeling that the club leadership 2.0 is a downgrade on Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi. I feel that we have lost the drive and the raw emotion that they brought. They seemed to embody the notion that we would one day be that mega-club that Chelsea and Man City became with similar backing. They were good characters who genuinely seemed to love the club and the fans.
Stick some glasses on Darren Eales and you have Penfold (Lee Charnley) which is a horrible thought. He is more than likely a perfectly brilliant CEO but he doesn’t come across as having black and white blood in the same way.
For all the back slapping we did at landing Paul Mitchell, I for one had never heard of him. We all laughed at Man Utd for getting Ashworth when they really wanted Paul Mitchell but at the last count Man Utd have signed three players for well over 100 million and look to add two more quality players before the window shuts.
Then there is the fiasco of the PSR sales. I thought a lot of Elliot Anderson, whilst Minteh could have gone some way to solving our right sided winger problem given the chance, but to the world it seems we hadn’t thought this PSR thing through properly and someone at some point figured out we were in the sticky stuff and sacrifices needed to be made to appease the footballing Gods.
Silver Linings
What about these silver linings, I hear you ask? We are literally two weeks into the season and are unbeaten. I believe that the poor performances in our last two games have been down to some off-field disruptions but no lack of effort on it. There may be fitness issues and some tired legs resulting from summer international shenanigans but the heart is still there in many of our players. This is evident in that we beat Southampton with a gritty performance and only 10 men, and we came from behind to rescue a point at Bournemouth, a ground we got tonked on last season.
Also, we have got some defensive options when Fabian Schar unbans himself after the Tottenham match and Sven Botman recovers from his poorly knee. Although signing Guehi would be massive!!
Cautious Optimism
As for the Newcastle United senior management team and general lack of signings, I am prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt. I get that we will only sign difference makers and in our financial position, and with PSR rules, we have money only for one or two a year, with selling clubs still seeming to think we have oodles of money to spend.
Paul Mitchell still hasn’t been with us long enough to know where his desk is and the whole PSR thing is changing the way transfers are conducted for everybody, evidenced by all clubs spending less and being a little more cautious. I have huge doubts that we will sign a difference maker this window but with five months more in the hot seat, Paul Mitchell still has more time to show his magic tricks before the January window closes and barring more serious injuries our squad is reasonably healthy.
HWTL – from a Texas based Geordie.
Author Nev Stokes
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