Thousands of fans took part in our big Newcastle United survey last month following a season like no other on Tyneside. The Magpies started the season under Steve Bruce with little hope and ended it riding the crest of a wave under Eddie Howe.
Howe replaced Bruce as Newcastle boss with the Magpies battling in and around the relegation zone prior to the turn of the year. However, 2022 saw Howe's Newcastle pull together a stellar run of form to finish the season in 11th.
Then there was the October takeover too, which saw Mike Ashley's tenure on Tyneside ended after 14-years, heralding in a new era of football at St James' Park.
Here are some of the key take away points from our big Toon survey:
- Over 70% of fans have top 10 expectations for next season
- The majority want Elliot Anderson to continue his development next season in the Championship
- Fans are mostly happy with Castore's first season
- Newcastle need to sign four players to improve
- A striker should be the top signing priority
October's takeover marked the return to St James' Park of Wor Flags following a two season hiatus. The flag displays at St James' stopped at the start of the 2019/20 season following the departure of Rafa Benitez that summer.
However, they returned for the first time since May 2019 for Newcastle's game against Spurs which was the first post-Mike Ashley era match.
READ MORE: Newcastle United should move on two first-team players to continue new dawn at St James' Park
Their displays have been sorely missed and have been excellent in helping to ramp up the atmosphere within St James' prior to kick-off on a match day. And fans have ranked Wor Flags' final home game display as their favourite of the season with 42.6% of the vote.
The display saw Wor Flags produce their biggest ever display with St James' Park adorned in a sea of black and white.
With the feel good factor at an all-time high on Tyneside, this summer promises to be an exciting one for Newcastle supporters. The club have already strengthened by signing up full-back Matt Targett to a permanent deal following his loan spell from Aston Villa and are working on a number of other deals.
However, with Callum Wilson spending the majority of the second half of the season out injured, a whopping 74.8% of fans want to see Newcastle make signing a striker their priority this summer. A centre-back is the fans next priority ( 10.3% ) while central midfield (4.7%), full-back (3.3%) and goalkeeper (1.9%) the other options supporters would like to see Newcastle strengthen.
Wilson impressed in the final two games of the season against Arsenal and Burnley, transforming Newcastle's attack. However, the striker's inability to stay fully fit means the Magpies must strengthen up front if they want to continue their climb towards the top of the Premier League table.
Of course, new signings mean players will have to leave too. One of those players who might depart St James' is club captain Jamaal Lascelles. Centre-back is a position Newcastle are keen on strengthening this summer, with the pursuit of Lille defender Sven Botman top of the Magpies transfer agenda.
Fans want to see the talented teenager Elliot Anderson secure a Championship loan, with 64.3% choosing that option for him. Interestingly, 31.9% want to see him stay with the first team next season and challenge for game time at Newcastle.
Lascelles found himself behind Fabian Schar and Dan Burn who became Howe's first choice centre-back pairing for the majority of the second half of the season. A Lascelles departure would mean Newcastle need a new captain. And even if the 28-year-old does stay at Newcastle, fans want to see Kieran Trippier named club captain ahead of the new season.
Trippier earned a massive 87.8% of the vote, with Dan Burn ( 5.4% ), Callum Wilson ( 2.1% ) and Lascelles ( 1.7% ) making up the remainder of the share.
Other takeaways from the big toon poll show the majority of Newcastle fans want to see St James' Park cleaned thoroughly. Under Mike Ashley, parts of St James' have become shockingly grubby which makes giving the ground a good clean a big stadium priority heading into the new season.
46.9% of fans don't want to see Newcastle move stadium either while 35.8% would be in favour of a new ground. 17.3% were undecided on a new stadium.
Additionally, a whopping 71.9% of those polled want to see Newcastle move away from betting sponsors. Newcastle are set to withdraw early from their deal with Chinese betting firm Fun88 next summer, and will be looking for a more lucrative sponsorship deal for next season.
Most fans (41.7%) rated Castore's first season as kit sponsor as 'good', 33.9% felt it was 'fair', 11.2% 'excellent', 10.6% 'poor' and 2.5% 'terrible'. Most fans (72.6%) have 'no issue' with a Saudi green change kit, 16% are uncomfortable and 11.4% are unsure.
A massive section (71.9%) want to see a move away from betting companies as a sponsor, with 26.1% 'not bothered'. Finally, for a fanbase often unfairly sighted for having unrealistic expectations, a sizable 70.7% of the almost 4,000 surveyed said they expect a not unrealistic top ten finish, 26.2% expect a European place while 2.5% expect top four.
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