Even when the fixture list was revealed last summer, it was perhaps predictable that the middle of March would represent the crisis point for Newcastle. If they had reached the Champions League quarter-finals and won the Tyne-Wear derby at St James’ Park, a lot of other frustrations could have been forgotten. Even better, that game against Sunderland would have had to be postponed had Newcastle reached a third Carabao Cup final since 2023.
Those days of celebration a year ago feel a long time ago now, but the mood could easily have been very different. Newcastle were the better side in the home leg against Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League. Only the concession of a daft late penalty denied them victory and they were a persistent threat on the break in the first half of the away leg. Only in the second half of the second leg did the game get away from them: a 7-2 defeat made the difference between the sides seem much greater than it actually was.
