It’s almost time for getting back to reality.
Although I have planned quite a bit of stuff for the season ahead (watch this space), the break after the mentally exhausting 25/26 Newcastle United season was put out of its misery was extremely welcome, with the World Cup a nice distraction.
I’m writing this before Spain attempt to overcome Argentina and FIFA in the final, but after England’s exit my heart isn’t really in it any more.
This is possibly due to the fact that pre-season is underway already, with Newcastle having their first kickabout while one of our number (Dan Burn) was still completing his ongoing 25/26 season as part of the England squad for the third place play-off.
Burn will be the last of the World Cup stars that filter back in time relative to their elimination and it is for this reason I’ve not got too concerned about pre-season starting while the club is still in a state of some machinations. In reality the majority of the squad won’t fully align for a week or two and the training camp in Spain is the time I’d mark as being key to start planning towards Liverpool and the opening day.
Others have chosen to panic.
I know some on The Mag won’t really interact with the social media element of Newcastle United’s fans, which is arguably a very healthy approach. I have some involvement on social platforms and YouTube and as such am exposed to some wild and wonderful viewpoints. One post I spotted on Saturday was so ridiculous that I felt a rare urge to get involved.
One online account had chosen to spread a story that United were getting battered off Darlington in the behind closed doors friendly. This story even grew arms and legs with a scoreline being reported (4-1 apparently) and details being added (Schar own goal). The meltdown was real, with fans claiming the game was only behind closed doors to avoid the wrath of the restless fanbase (every season for the past few years has opened with similar low key kickabouts) and general tying this in as yet more evidence for getting rid of Eddie Howe/heading up the hill with fire and pitchforks.
It actually saddens me more than anything, that people will fabricate this kind of thing. Ignoring the fact we actually won 3-0 against Darlington, it was half a team and a friendly six days into pre-season has little to no bearing on how the season will go, it doesn’t help solve the real problems by manufacturing more.
It is undeniably true that there is cause for concern. Last season’s fall off was a result of recruitment struggles, poor game management and a general sense of malaise typified by a gut wrenching Groundhog Day result of losing from a winning position that we all felt too familiar with when England pulled this trick in their semi-final. This summer is alarming because our key player reportedly wants a move to a hated rival, we have been slapped with alarming (further) financial restrictions and the inbound business yet again looks slow and inefficient.
Yes I’m concerned, but I choose to look at the bigger picture and hope for better with the options available to us. Some seem to take savage pleasure in any suggestion of things going wrong in what seems to be a salivating lust to be proven right about how much we should all hate on the manager/Sean Longstaff/Andy Howe/whoever they choose to pick on.
The bigger picture though, is materialising into view. The hope for salvation for the season ahead needs to be that our forwards can settle into some kind of consistent attacking rhythm. This may be driven by Woltemade settling into his second season (and a position), Wissa using his positive World Cup to put his injury issues behind him, Osula continuing his late season form consistently or a mixture of all three. Add a rebooted midfield and you might be on to something.
The key though, needs to be at the back. With the financial restrictions UEFA’s ruling has brought, we effectively need to build a squad up over the next couple of years from the smoking remnants of the squad that won something and got into the Champions League. You could say it’s not too dissimilar a job to upgrading the post takeover side Steve Bruce left, so effectively Eddie Howe needs to replicate his job from 2022/23.
While this team was boosted by some excellent attackers, the story of that season was at the back. The lowest goals conceded in the league and a platform to win many a game, with a settled and solid back line. Nick Pope was a huge part of that, with his shot stopping and “sweeper keeper” abilities belying the poor kicking that has since become a big issue for him and the team.
It may have been that shoulder injury or just the passage of time, but Pope’s reliability has diminished since. It’s unacceptable if anyone thinks of him as anything other than a great servant to the club, but the ideal would be if he has a couple of pre season runabouts then leaves for Ipswich with everyone’s best wishes as a satisfactory replacement is brought in. It’s been clear for some time that James Trafford (pictured below) is the replacement they want.
This is where the line gets fuzzy. The hysteria out there becomes overblown at fictional scorelines and imagined transfer botches, but any anger at the failure to upgrade the goalkeeper is righteous. If Trafford is the number one target, then it’s worthwhile going slightly higher into that Tonali money than ideally we’d like. If, as rumoured, Trafford is considering Leeds United then surely he’ll sign for Newcastle United and surely we can trump them financially and in terms of prospects?
In the event that Trafford was indeed waiting for the end of the World Cup the week ahead needs this addressed. Either he comes here and they push to get him signed this week, or they establish he doesn’t want to and firmly pursue the second target they should have lined up. Keeper is a unique position, you can’t just chuck Lewis Miley there and see how he does and it’s absolutely critical that it’s sorted as a priority. I actually don’t want to read anything more about midfielders being linked until we’ve got someone in nets.
This is crunch time. No more World Cup as a distraction or an excuse. Pre-season is gently beginning but it will kick in big time over the next fortnight. If United don’t act in a way that shows a few key concerns are addressed the hysteria of the corners of the internet may well find its way into the ground.
Anyway, five weeks until the start of the Premier League, who’s excited?
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Source: The Mag
