There is a new Newcastle United emerging, and on this powerful form they’ll be moving towards the Premier League elite.
Boss Eddie Howe labelled his players “brilliant” after crushing Premier League new boys Forest. The question now is how good can this Newcastle outfit become?
Newcastle fans launched the season quoting Nina Simone in a giant Gallowgate End banner. “A new day and a new dawn, we’re feeling good”. And even play-it-cool Howe was beaming. While pointing out it is only one game, he admitted: “It was a brilliant performance from us from start to finish," Howe said. "We needed to be patient. We didn’t lose our discipline and we got rewarded.
“Physically the players were very good after a five week pre-season. We pushed them to their limit. We looked really really good. It was a great day but it is one day and we can’t rest for a second. That is the foundation for the rest of the season. We wanted to carry a feel good factor from last season through.”
Levels of optimism on Tyneside have reached heights unseen for a couple of decades. And the players lived up to the expectation and hype in the stands with one of the most dominant and forceful shows for a decade. Newcastle were everything Howe wanted his side to evolve into. Controlled, on the front foot, comfortable on the ball and with a killer finish. True, it took 57 minutes to break Forest, but when the goals arrived, the finishing was sublime from both Fabian Schar and Callum Wilson. The striker's goal, in particular, a flash of skill, beauty and improvisation at the near post, was delightful.
The opener from Swiss international Schar was a blockbuster. He collected the ball 40 yards out, skipped forward unchallenged and hammered home off the post, from outside the box. Howe celebrated with emotion and said: “Schar’s finish was an incredible strike. Shooting from that range, I probably wouldn’t have reached the goal! He is capable of special moments. We needed a goal like that.”
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The second came from striker Wilson. United have around £40m more to spend this summer on the attacking positions, but keeping Wilson fit will be important. His chance conversion rate is up with the elite, 20 goals in 39 stars and five sub appearances on Tyneside. Few would have managed to loop the ball over Dean Henderson with such a deft, gorgeous flick. The assist from the left wing came from the marauding Brazilian Joelinton.
Howe added: “Callum has done well pre-season and has looked very good and he came back at the end of last season and was strong. It was an excellent finish from a difficult angle and hopefully he can have a full season.” Howe picked England keeper Nicky Pope ahead of Martin Dubravka and Sven Botman was left on the bench.
For Forest it’s a quick learning curve in their first Premier League game for 23 years and 82 days. Cooper’s side competed with tenacity but looked a bit ragged at the end. “Newcastle were the better team,” Cooper admitted. “They had the ball, and territory. But they didn’t pepper Dean in goal. It took a 25 yarder to break us down. We were not right in possession today and we gave the ball up too much. It’s not the team we want to be and we fell short in our performance. We lost but we felt the difference of what a Premier League game is. There is a big difference and we have to reflect quickly and get used to it.”
