Newcastle may finally be mastering the tricky art of winning twice in a week. Eddie Howe’s players did not always convince and it was not until the 90th minute that Bruno Guimarães secured all three points, but ultimately they followed up the 3-0 Champions League victory over Benfica by edging past Fulham.
That should be a relief to Newcastle’s new chief executive, David Hopkinson, who is presiding over a 100-day review of all areas of club operations. It is the sort of management exercise beloved of senior executives across assorted companies but the reality at St James’ Park is that almost every department remains largely a hostage to first-team fortunes. If Howe’s team fail to qualify for the Champions League again next season everyone suffers the consequences.
