The next flight departing Newcastle for Milan will arrive at least two years early.
“Nobody thought we’d be here this season,” a club source tells i.
“Even our most optimistic projection didn’t have the Champions League in year two but now we’re here we’re going to embrace all of it. And we might just shock a few people with how well we do.”
After two decades in the European wilderness, the Magpies make their return to the Champions League on Tuesday night at the San Siro and the mood on Tyneside is bullish. There is no feeling of fear at landing in the hardest group in the competition.
Granted, Saturday’s defeat of Brentford bore few of the hallmarks of the buccaneering approach that carried Newcastle to a remarkable fourth place finish. But it earned the club and Eddie Howe some much-needed breathing space to attack their first Champions League campaign for more than two decades. By the time Tuesday’s teatime kick-off arrives the mood will have reached fever pitch.
Given the length of the club’s European exile it is little surprise that a veritable travelling army is set to back Newcastle but they will have had to work to get there.
With no direct flights to Milan from the city, Skyscanner groaned under the weight of supporters trying to find a route to the game on the morning the fixtures were published a fortnight ago. It is a testament to their ingenuity that no one fan flight plan seems to look the same, with routes booked via Pisa, Rome, Amsterdam, Brussels, Switzerland and even Istanbul and Malaga.
Some plan on hiring minibuses and driving from Zurich or various Italian airports and one – Carl Charlton – has secured return flights via Mallorca and Edinburgh. “Can’t believe this is actually happening,” he said.
At least they all have an affordable route to Italy. Any last minute travellers would have been confronted with flights costing £1,112 to make it in time for kick-off, such is the surge pricing in place. Milan might not know what has hit it.
“To be back in the Champions League is a reminder that the fans were right all along,” Alex Hurst, host of the True Faith podcast tells i.
“Through the Mike Ashley years we were told to be careful what we wished for, we were told Amanda Staveley was a fantasist and Steve Bruce was doing a great job. But we said all along the Champions League is our rightful level. And we have got here without spending as much as the rest of the big six who we were competing against last year.”
That the return comes at the San Siro feels like serendipity. In 2002, the last time Newcastle made the group stages of the competition, the club were backed by some 12,000 visiting supporters in Milan. It is remembered as one of the great away days by supporters from an era when European football was taken for granted.
Now they return as fourth seeds in a heavyweight group but there is a sneaking suspicion inside the club that they have the talent, coaching heft and supporter goodwill to go far.
In an attempt to play down some of the hype around the game, Howe eschewed the tradition of holding a final training session at the opposition’s stadium on Monday. Instead they trained in the rain at Benton before a lunchtime flight to Italy and keeping a lid on things has been Howe’s approach since qualification was achieved. He has danced around the words “Champions League” in press conferences and maintained a mantra of taking care of domestic business but will relish the chance to test his managerial mettle against Europe’s best.
After a run of three defeats, the message from the boardroom has always been unequivocal: Howe retains their full support and will through the remainder of this season.
So, too, does the recruitment and squad building approach which some have questioned after the club prioritised the potential of Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento over “plug in and play” options who were available at centre-back and defensive midfield. One insider told i that Newcastle will end up saving themselves “at least £50m” by buying those two players this summer rather than waiting another 12 or 18 months. The number five and six the squad need may yet arrive in January – but only as part of the right deal.
“This is a long-term project. How many times do we have to say it?” a source told i.
And that kind of assuredness also accounts for why Newcastle are close to agreeing new, long-term contracts with Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes.
The club are also keen to tie centre-back Fabian Schar down to the sort of short-term deal Callum Wilson agreed at the end of last week.
The message from all this is clear. Newcastle’s return to the Champions League is based on sound foundations, and they intend to stick around this time.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/jV6hTYv
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