Eddie Howe is fiercely loyal to his Newcastle United players but there, in the bitter disappointment of throwing away a golden opportunity to advance their European ambitions at Old Trafford, was a hint that patience is beginning to erode.
Asked to account for his team conceding three or more goals for the 11th time this season, his answer was short and to the point.
“Last season we were great away from home defensively, a lot of clean sheets, maybe not true classic performances but 1-0 wins. We’ve missed that this year,” Howe said.
And then came a veiled warning – perhaps the first shots in what has to be a summer revolution at St James’ Park.
“We haven’t delivered anywhere near as many of those type of performances that you need on the road and we have to look at why, we have to look at the personnel of the team [and] we have to look at the mentality of the group because we should be delivering better than that,” he said.
Howe was absolutely right. The admirable determination and spirit that has kept this season alive in difficult circumstances cannot be allowed to colour the conclusions that will be reached when the club’s brains trust meet for their end-of-season audit next month. This has to be the start of a new cycle for Newcastle: the squad is in need of surgery.
And if there is one lesson that must be heeded from Newcastle stumbling at the final hurdle of a draining season it is this: the hard decisions cannot be avoided this summer. This is a squad in need of more than just the tweaks that Howe had previously suggested are coming.
The word from Newcastle sources on that front have been fairly consistent. Profitability and sustainability regulations (PSR) mean the need for nimble work. Outgoings will have to precede incomings. This is about quality rather than quantity.
But a serious injection of quality is required if Newcastle are to lift themselves into contention next season. For while it is true that a team without injuries would have probably made a more serious run at the top four, that mitigation only goes so far.
Does Howe need to adjust his own expectations and tweak his playing style to avoid the sort of problems that have beset the group? A deep dive into injuries is understood to be underway at Newcastle. The results of that will be fascinating.
But so too will be the outcome of a summer when the Magpies cannot afford to be timid in the transfer market. That was what it looked like in January, when – partly at Howe’s behest – they either withdrew from selling some of the family silver or did not push hard enough to move players on.
Part of that was down to market conditions. Few expected so little business to be done, which stunted the sort of offers Newcastle got and would have made incoming deals difficult.
But the club’s predicament is that they cannot think like a Tottenham Hotspur or a Manchester City yet. They remain behind both in their development so will need to take some risks and some hard decisions. Even a manager like Howe – who so cherishes the dressing room chemistry he has created – must recognise they run the risk of stagnation if some of those who have been regular starters this season stay.
They must also improve their recruitment after a mediocre summer window 12 months ago. Tino Livramento is the only unqualified success of what now looks like an opportunity blown. The seemingly imminent appointment of a new director of football – most likely Dougie Freedman, whose recruitment expertise seems to be swinging things in his favour – should add authority to their work.
The presence of Yasir Al-Rumayyan on Tyneside last week was interesting. The Saudi PIF governor, and Newcastle chairman, is hands off at St James’ Park but sources suggest “things start moving” when he is in town. Whether recruitment and stadium plans will gather pace now remains to be seen but talks with the first major target of the summer – Tosin Adarabioyo – accelerated in the week he was visiting.
Indeed i has been told that he is one of the reasons why a deal has not yet been brokered with Manchester United for the services of Dan Ashworth. Be it belligerence or a warning shot that this version of Newcastle will not accommodate rivals, the message is clear: we aren’t here to make friends.
But that motto only works if Newcastle are prepared to mix things up. It is time to move onto the next phase of the black and white project.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/JrPG2SF
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