Frustrated yet optimistic | OneFootball

We wanted to get a snapshot of what Newcastle United fans are thinking.

Three months into the season and 17 matches played so far across three competitions.

Now in the November international break and Newcastle United fans seeing their team win eight games, draw three, lose six.

Those results summing up a start to the season with plenty of ups and downs.

Plenty to talk about as we ask a number of Newcastle United fans, who are regular/irregular contributors to The Mag, to give us their views on the season so far, plus what will happen as we move forward.

Next up is The Armchair Fan answering the questions.

Three words to describe how you currently feel as a Newcastle fan?

Frustrated yet optimistic

Three words to describe Newcastle United now?

League Cup champions

Alexander Isak – Time to forgive and forget…? 

I don’t think he’ll ever be forgiven but perhaps it’s time to forget.

I think going on strike was absolutely disgraceful whilst picking up wages and Alexander Isak could have conducted himself with far more dignity by training for us, playing in friendlies and the first few matches, whilst also negotiating a move away behind the scenes if that’s what he really wanted.

I personally couldn’t care less about him these days unless he’s playing against Newcastle, when of course I want him to fail spectacularly.

I won’t ever forgive how badly he behaved and disrespected the club but certainly won’t be dwelling on anyone who doesn’t play in black and white.

We now have a striker who’s scored many more goals this season for both club and country whilst Alexander Isak struggles for form and fitness. You’ve got to love the irony.

If you had to choose. A win against Sunderland but lose to Fulham in Carabao Cup quarter-final, or lose to Sunderland and go through to Carabao Cup semi-finals?

In all honesty, I’d rather beat the Mackems.

Not just for local bragging rights but the fact is that we’ve dropped way too many points to poor teams away from home already this season and that has to stop if we’re serious about another Champions League qualifying finish. There hasn’t really been a ‘feel good’ factor at NUFC since we beat Chelsea last April and some fans are getting a bit fed up with Eddie Howe. A defeat in the derby could see the pressure on him ramp up to an alarming extent. I personally think we will win both matches but if I had to choose one, it’s the derby.

Would winning the Carabao Cup again this season BUT finishing outside the Premier League top six, be success or failure?

Neither. Failure would be too strong a word, especially as we would have achieved only our second major trophy in fifty-seven years. It couldn’t be classed as a success either, because we won the cup and finished fourth last season, so being outside the top six this time around would represent a big step backwards.

Hand on heart, what is your best estimate (not hope!) of where Newcastle United will end up this season in the Premier League, the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup, how well they will realistically do in each of them?

I still think we’ll finish quite high in the league. Last season we were in the bottom half at the start of December but turned it around with a great run of form and I fancy that again, so maybe fourth or fifth. We showed last season how effective a great November and December can be in terms of climbing the table and it wouldn’t take a lot to have us up in the European places come Christmas providing we can find a bit of consistency.

I think we’ll have a good go in the League Cup and make another final, maybe even winning it again. Eddie clearly takes the competition really seriously and we’re defending our title so won’t be giving it up without a fight.

I’ve been pleased with our Champions league campaign so far and three wins from four matches puts us in a great position to make the next round. I think we’ll make it to the knock-out stages, so probably last sixteen or quarter finals but no further than that.

The FA Cup may be the one that gets sacrificed in amongst all these games so I’ll go for a fourth round knock-out to ease the pressure. There’s only so many matches we can cope with at a time, so maybe Eddie will play some of the younger players in the FA Cup if we’re still battling to win the League cup come January.

In order, which six NUFC players have been the most impressive so far this 2025/26 season?

Thaiw

Woltemade

Barnes

Gordon

Eight months ago, Eddie Howe banked the first trophy for Newcastle in 56 years, then two months later secured a second Champions League qualification in three years. Some Newcastle fans appear to be questioning his position now. What are your thoughts on Eddie Howe and how much more time has he earned to get the league position sorted and beyond that, or not?

I think he’s done an absolutely unbelievable job since taking over and would love him to be our manager for many years to come.

To come in and survive relegation, take us to two Champions League campaigns, two Wembley finals and win our first trophy for decades, is beyond anything we could have hoped for in just four years. He’s been brilliant for us, absolutely top class. He comes across as a genuinely decent bloke too and you can tell he’s really passionate about the club.

I don’t think there’s anyone else who could come in and do a better job. By winning the cup, he’s given all of us the best day of our lives and that should be remembered.

What do you see as three positive things for Newcastle United so far this season?

The foodbank is something that every single Newcastle fan should be immensely proud of. They work tirelessly in all weathers to help supply not just food but also other essentials to some of the most vulnerable members of our community and I’ll once again be making a donation this Christmas.

Wor Flags have done an unbelievable job of staging some spectacular displays. The volunteers there do tremendous work to help raise the atmosphere and this is something that makes NUFC truly unique. Other clubs have tried similar things but ours is by far the biggest and the best. Accept no imitations.

The Sir Bobby Robson foundation is a charity that raises essential money and awareness for the detection and treatment of cancer. What an absolute pleasure to be associated with such a worthy cause in honour of a gentleman who shared our passion for both football and NUFC.

What do you see as three negative things for Newcastle United so far this season?

Away form has gone from concerning to alarming! Three 0-0 draws against Villa, Leeds and Bournemouth was nowhere near good enough but to then lose to Brighton, West Ham and Brentford makes it three points, three goals and no wins in half a dozen away fixtures, which is far below what we need to challenge for the top four. It needs sorting as soon as possible, starting with six points from Everton and the Mackems.

League position – they say you can start to take notice of the league table after about ten games, well we’re now eleven games in and closer to relegation than the Champions League places. It’s time to put a run of form together and climb the table.

Giving away leads: Arsenal, West Ham and Brentford all saw great opportunities for us to kick on and gain three points having taken a first-half lead. That’s nine points that would have rocketed us from fourteenth up to third. When you add in the point we should have taken from Liverpool, we’d be joint second and whispering about a genuine tilt at winning the title. Once we take a lead, we need to hammer home the advantage and go on to achieve the victory rather than lamenting the lost points.

Sunderland are now back in the same division and at this moment ahead of NUFC, your thoughts?

I’m not too worried at present, the league is a marathon and not a sprint. There’s no denying that they have enjoyed a brilliant start and pulled out some genuinely eye-catching results. I wouldn’t be too surprised though if this form dries up over Christmas and they slip down the table. I think if we beat them in December we’ll climb above them soon, a victory for them however would boost their club even further and give them more momentum. The derby is a huge match in more ways than one. I fancy at least four points from the two derby games this season and a much higher finish in the league than the Mackems.

If (when) we do finish above the Mackems then at least we can rest assured that our end-of-season review won’t be titled ‘North East top dogs’ (Thank God!), that title only applies on the rare occasion NUFC aren’t the highest placed team between us, the Mackems and the smoggies.

What would represent success in the 2025/26 season for Newcastle United?

Qualifying for the Champions League. Anything else is a bonus. Winning another cup would be amazing too but staying in the top four or five has to be the priority.

What do you see as the minimum to achieve this coming season?

As above

Predict the top six in the Premier League (in order) and which three clubs will be relegated.

Arsenal

Man City

Liverpool

Chelsea

Newcastle

Wolves seem certain to be relegated and I’d also be very worried if I was a supporter of West Ham, Forest, Leeds or Fulham.

With NUFC now having won a trophy…has that changed your priorities at all with the club now balancing getting Champions League football on a regular basis, compared to try and win cups?

Next three seasons, would you rather finish top four all three seasons BUT win nothing, or finish mid-table all three seasons AND win the FA Cup in one of the three?

I guess I’ve already answered those two questions. Qualifying for the Champions League and being in the top four is the most important aim at present, this will allow the club to grow and that will inevitably go hand in hand with a few more big shiny things.

Would you say winning the Carabao Cup last season has made you more content, or now more desperate to get the next one?

More content without a shadow of a doubt. I honestly thought I’d never see the day when the Toon won a major trophy so to do so, especially in the way we did, was magic! I now know I won’t be going to my grave having never seen Newcastle win anything.