In your Newcastle United season preview, we look at why Tyneside is a place to be feared – both domestically and in Europe…
FourFourTwo's Newcastle United season preview
FFT's view
The Plan
It felt surreal for fans to consider it, but the plan was to build on a first major trophy win in 56 years by launching a legitimate challenge for the Premier League title and qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League. Then an Alexander Isak-shaped spanner landed in the works.
PREMIER LEAGUE 5th
FA CUP Fifth Round
LEAGUE CUP Winners
TOP SCORER (ALL COMPS) Alexander Isak (27)
Newcastle commenced the summer needing quality additions on the right wing and in central defence, a reliable back-up/replacement striker to Alexander Isak, a talented young goalkeeper who could succeed Nick Pope, and a right winger and a centre-back. In short, the Magpies need to sign several players capable of going straight into the first team, and that is something they have failed to do in the last three windows.
The Coach
Eddie Howe can just pick a plot for his statue at the incoming (unconfirmed, but inevitable) new stadium. Winning a trophy took him above Kevin Keegan and Sir Bobby Robson in fans’ estimations, and praise really doesn’t come higher. Back him, trust him and reap the rewards. But a lack of support from above, and constant failure to land key targets only serve to push him closer to the exit door when the right opportunity comes.
Key player
Newcastle fans are excited to see Sandro Tonali do Sandro Tonali things on the Champions League stage again. As perhaps the most important cog in this team, the Adam Driver lookalike takes pressure off the defence and enables Bruno Guimaraes to thrive higher up the pitch.
Lesson from last year
For all of the success on the pitch, there’s been a big lack of stability off it. Four senior figures (Amanda Staveley, Mehrdad Ghodoussi, Dan Ashworth and Paul Mitchell) have already come and gone since the 2021 takeover, and current CEO Darren Eales is expected to make it five due to health reasons.
This preview originally appeared in FourFourTwo's Season Preview issue which went on sale in July, available here with free delivery
Newcastle need to appoint a top sporting director who can work in harmony with the manager. Mitchell, who replaced Ashworth last summer, couldn’t do that and seemed to take the hint, resigning after just a year. Just as important is Eales’ replacement: Newcastle’s commercial income is still lagging behind clubs around them in the Deloitte Football Money League.
The Mood
Growing disallusion. With the trophy monkey off their backs, Newcastle hoped to push for more of them and become a real nuisance to Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea. But transfer target gazumpings by two of those clubs (three if Isak moves to Merseyside) has been hugely depressing.
One to watch
In his first season, William Osula showed glimpses in cup games and scored a fine looping header in April’s league game against Ipswich. Encouragingly, he spent this summer racking up goals for Denmark in the Under-21 Euros.
Most likely to...
Lose the coin toss.
TITLE ODDS 14/1
As the St James’ Park pitch slopes towards the Gallowgate End, Newcastle prefer to kick down it in the second half. But Bruno Guimaraes is flipping rubbish at calling heads or tails, so they’re regularly ‘spun’ by visiting captains, to home fans’ irritation.
Least likely to…
Accept the incoming badge update quietly. The club have announced plans to ‘refine and revive’ their current crest for 2026/27. It’s probably overdue with the current badge designed by hand in 1988 and never properly digitised, making it hard to reproduce with clarity. Manchester United and Sunderland are the only other Premier League clubs not to update this side of the millennium.
FFT verdict
4TH The Magpies are a few judicious signings away from ascending to the top table. They’re set to fly.
The Number Cruncher
Fan view
Newcastle are looking to build on a historic season – True Faith podcast host Alex Hurst gives the view from the stands of how life is looking for the Toon…
Last season was the best in our modern history.
The big talking point is PSR – again. But finally, Howe can sign players ready for the first team.
Our key player will be Isak (if he stays) who scored 27 goals last season despite being poor for the first third of it and probably playing with an injury for the last third.
Look out for midfielder Alfie Harrison. He joined from Manchester City in 2024 and, at 19, could be ready to play for the first team with our additional fixtures this season.
The pantomime villain will be Jordan Pickford.
The opposition player who grinds my gears is Amad Diallo. He was once on loan at Sunderland, and now he clowns around pretending he hates us for social media points from the fanbase of a club he represented for about five minutes and left as soon as he could. Play for them if you like them that much.
The active player I’d love to have back is Chris Wood, because we simply didn’t replace him.
The one change I’d make would be genuine communication with supporters. There is none.
Fans think our gaffer is guaranteed to go down in history as an all-time great. He’s calm and has held the whole ‘project’ together at times. Howe has a bad habit of making unnecessary formation or system changes at the end of seasons, but apart from that he’s perfect.
If he left, he should be replaced by his assistant, Jason Tindall.
We’ll finish 5th.
These previews originally appeared in FourFourTwo's Season Preview issue which went on sale in July, available here with free delivery
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