When Newcastle United’s takeover by a Saudi Arabia-backed consortium was confirmed, you could understand the sense of excitement which gripped fans of the club. Suddenly, Newcastle were in the money, on the hunt for a world-class manager to replace Steve Bruce, and things were looking up after a miserable start to the season. Newcastle yet to fully get going under Eddie Howe-
Unfortunately, not much has changed in the weeks since. Bruce departed as expected, but rather than getting in a coach with experience of managing top clubs, Newcastle were forced to settle for Eddie Howe, after Unai Emery turned them down. Worse still, the team have still not managed to pick up a win in the Premier League this season, with a 1-1 home draw with fellow relegation candidates Norwich City acting as the latest result to go against the predictions of those betting on football.
The night got off to the worst possible start when defender Ciaran Clark was sent off less than 10 minutes in for dragging back Norwich striker Teemu Pukki as the Finland international was bearing down on goal. The Magpies rallied nonetheless, and took the lead through a Callum Wilson penalty after Billy Gilmour had handled in the box.
With their man-advantage, Norwich were always likely to find their feet, and duly equalised thanks to Pukki’s stunning volley into the top corner. The visitors could even have won it late on, but Pierre Lees-Melou’s effort was saved heroically by Martin Dubravka.
On the face of it, a point in any Premier League match after playing the majority of the game with 10 men should be a positive result, but the reality is that Newcastle have let two eminently winnable home games slip through their grasp, with only two points collected. The 3-3 draw with Brentford was another chance to pick up that elusive three points, but it’s clear Howe has a major job on his hands to instil a winning mentality at the club.
What you can’t deny is Howe’s commitment to the cause. He is a manager who gives everything in terms of both on-field coaching and tactical analysis. Much has been made of the long hours he’s been putting in since arriving at Newcastle, but ultimately his team will need to start producing results sooner or later.
Newcastle have a rotten run of fixtures coming up. They face Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United in four of their next six Premier League fixtures, which makes their next match against Burnley an absolute must-win at St James’ Park. There is a very real possibility that Newcastle could be cut adrift at the bottom of the Premier League table if they don’t fin a way to start winning soon.
All in all, this is not what their fans expected when the takeover was announced. It was supposed to be the beginning of a long period of success for the club — increased stability, footballing vision, big-money transfers. Instead, nothing much has changed in the department that really matters — results.
The January transfer window will be crucial for Howe and co. to try and bolster the squad, but they must make sure that Newcastle’s survival hopes in the soccer tips aren’t already dashed by the time the new year comes around.
