Witnessing greatness is an uplifting experience at St James’ Park and after watching on as Kevin Keegan rebuilt the club in the 1990s and Sir Bobby Robson revived it in the early 2000s, I have to say that the job Eddie Howe has done is very similar to these two managerial greats.
Yet Howe actually has the chance to go one step further and write his name into Tyneside folklore.
Like both Robson and Keegan, Howe has not put a trophy on the table in the Toon boardroom, but if you can’t be optimistic about that happening in the next few years, you never will be.
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Of course, Keegan came within a whisker of winning the Premier League after that 12-point lead evaporated as Sir Alex Ferguson turned the heat up in 1996. Sir Bobby also had a title tilt but couldn’t catch the Manchester United icon, while he also had some near-misses in the FA Cup semi-final and UEFA Cup semi-finals.
In his first full season, Howe was just 90 minutes away from ending the trophy drought, but in a season in which his team have dominated almost every match, they conjured up a tame display at Wembley. Put that down to a lack of experience on the big day and move on, lads, because there are more opportunities ahead.
Howe has managed to deliver Champions League football during a season in which his team never wilted under the pressure of holding on to a coveted slot in 27 of the 38 match days they were involved in. That’s some going for a team that were close to relegation in 2022, but Newcastle have made huge strides in a very short space of time.
Howe has done it in such an entertaining way too with an aggressive 4-3-3 formation that yielded 68 goals and 71 points overall. Only Liverpool managed the double over Newcastle in the Premier League last season, but they could not manage to overtake them in the top flight when the going got tough.
Newcastle fans may well remember this team as fondly as the Entertainers and Bobby’s boys of the 2000s.
From Nick Pope in goal to Kieran Trippier at right-back and the two battling centre-backs in the shape of Fabian Schar and Sven Botman to Geordie Dan Burn at left-back. The midfield impressed too with Bruno Guimaraes complimented by another Tynesider Sean Longstaff and the excellent Joe Willock.
Joelinton was another big hit this season and alongside Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron in the front three for a long stretch, United looked unbeatable. Then, when the team needed a breather, you had players such as Jacob Murphy, Alexander Isak and Elliot Anderson to come in and play their part.
This squad will need additions in the summer and the warning signs from previous campaigns tell you exactly that with European competitions always adding strain to the schedule.
Of course, Newcastle fans will enjoy it and those Champions League nights will be something to savour as United now embark on an incredible journey. But it is the Premier League form that needs to be protected and that’s where Howe will need full backing in the transfer window ahead of us.
Once the draw is known, fans will get excited and start to book travel across Europe, but there are still two more domestic cup opportunities to be mindful of. Howe stated at one of his final Press conferences of the season that he does not consider getting to the Champions League as a success akin to winning a trophy.
And that’s great to hear because the moment a head coach does make a breakthrough, it will be a weight off everybody’s shoulders on Tyneside, it’s been that long. If Howe can maintain the same level of team spirit, togetherness and sheer energy from this group, they should have no issues moving forward in the next few years.
The only difference now is that there will be expectations in the air, not from the fanbase – they’ll watch the team wherever they are in the table and whatever competition they play in.
But the outside world, media pundits and rival fans will judge Newcastle and the free and easy way United attacked last season won’t be around in 2023/24.
With the owners also making it clear they want to win it all eventually, United will need to take another step closer to winning something this season. Whether that is a long run in Europe or another tilt at one of the cups with solid league form thrown in remains to be seen.
They might not deliver that elusive trophy next season, but if they can have as much fun trying as they did in 2023, few will complain. Newcastle are back at Europe’s top table, folks, and they aren’t just here to stand on ceremony.
