With Newcastle United now having won a trophy, is it a case of changed priorities? | OneFootball

We wanted to get a snapshot of how 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 Simon Ritter answering the questions.

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?

One trophy in 56 years is nowhere near enough to satisfy any reasonable supporter. As a pensioner, I want a few more repeats of March 16 asap. That’s my heart talking. My head tells me annual qualification for the Champions League is more important, especially now it guarantees a minimum of eight ties a season.

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?

Top four all three seasons, especially after the start we have made this time around.

What are your thoughts on the fact that we are now more than four years after the takeover and still no plans announced on a new training ground, nor a far bigger capacity stadium (either brand new one, or an increased capacity St James’ Park)?

The official silence is disturbing. It feeds the rumour mill, unsettles the supporters, frustrates the hell out of those who have no chance of attending matches other than via an opaque ballot or by spending hundreds of pounds on a hospitality ticket. Are the owners in this for the long run or do they view NUFC as a relatively short-term investment?

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

Optimistic, not expectant

Three words to describe Newcastle United now?

Perplexing, potentially dynamic

Alexander Isak – Time to forgive and forget…? 

I will not forgive Isak, though my reasons are probably different from most people’s.

To forgive somebody means you believe they were at fault. I don’t believe Isak was, so forgiveness plays no part in my Isak equation (a bit like football playing no part in the Swedish striker’s life for several months, when employed by us and now by Liverpool). He considered his options, he decided to break a six-year contract after less than three years and off he went, eventually.

Were we wrong to offer him a six-year deal? No. The first time he played at Anfield, we could all see he was special. Because the contract was long, the club made a good profit when he was sold. That’s football. None of us bystanders knows what, if anything, was offered to encourage him to stay with the Mags.

Was he wrong to sign the contract in 2022? No. He had already played in Germany and Spain after leaving Sweden, he knew how football worked, he was a commodity available to the highest bidder.

Any supporter of Newcastle United who condemns Isak for his behaviour while applauding Wissa is guilty of, to put it mildly, double standards. There are plenty of big clubs that champion hypocrisy. I don’t want us to be tainted with that brush.

As for ever being able to forget what Isak did on the pitch (though that is presumably not the implication of the question): who are you kidding? Like hundreds of thousands of black-and-white fans, I was walking on the moon when he scored the clincher at Wembley. If not for Guimaraes straying offside, Isak would have scored two that day. He is world-class when fit, a frequent scorer of brilliant goals. Time will tell whether we or Liverpool benefit more from his latest move.

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?

Beat Fulham. Lose to Sunderland at their place if that’s the deal we have to make with the Devil but ensure we humiliate them at St James’ Park in the reverse fixture.

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

Newcastle United are not perennial winners of anything, so another trophy has to be success. Retaining the League Cup would guarantee a second consecutive European campaign, this time in a competition we could harbour realistic prospects of lifting. Yes, it’s the third tier, but it’s another step on the ladder.

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?

Premier League fifth. Champions League losing semi-finalists (the ones nobody remembers, except us). FA Cup third round, because we are due a stinking away tie. League Cup is ours for another season.

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?

Eddie Howe is our most successful manager since Joe Harvey. He is trying to compete on a playing field as level as Cheviot. Give him as much time as he wants.

What do you think about how the summer transfer window was conducted by Newcastle United?

The window closed about 11 weeks ago. Howe had asked for early deals but they were not forthcoming. Instead, there was a flurry of signings once the season started. That cannot be ideal, even if the balance sheet looked healthier than it would have done if we had declined to haggle.

How much do you think Newcastle United having no CEO or Sporting Director contributed to the fact NUFC signed only one player (Elanga) who had a proper pre-season?

That’s impossible to answer. Howe seems to make almost every decision on the playing side. I have no problem with that, he’s in the hot seat. Looking from the outside, he might have needed to get a CEO and/or sporting director onside before players were signed. With those posts vacant, there was less room for disagreements. There was also, however, less time for him to do what he does best, fine-tune the team.

In the future after they have all finished their Newcastle United careers, what is your guesstimate on how the six summer signings will each be assessed. In each case – Thiaw, Ramsdale, Ramsey, Woltemade, Elanga and Wissa to be seen as one of these three choices – A success, Done OK, Failure.

Crystal ball time again, especially with Wissa. There is no way of judging what he will bring to the team. As for the other five:

Thiaw a success

Ramsdale a success

Woltemade a success

Elanga OK

Ramsey OK

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

The goals and all-round play of Woltemade. The ability and assurance of Thiaw. The continued development of Osula.

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

The injuries to Hall, Livramento and Wissa.

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

I cheered them on against Arsenal and I will be pleased if they take points from any other team we are trying to replace at the top table. Their squad includes nine players who might be busy at the Afcon. If the mackems are still in the top six in February, their manager will be hailed as a genius.

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

Another trophy, tin-pot or otherwise!

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

Qualification for one of the three Uefa-run competitions.

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

Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle United, Bournemouth. The bottom three will be Burnley, Leeds and Wolves.

If Newcastle United were to look to the transfer market to strengthen the team/squad in January, what do you see as the priority (or priorities…)?

With a fully fit squad, with every player on form, I cannot see glaring gaps. Wissa is a worry because of the Afcon but perhaps that will allow Osula or Neave to shine. Is there space for a midfielder who can open stubborn defences with a sublime pass? If there is, I would go back to Brentford and ask for Damsgaard. His stats are unimpressive but the fans voted him the player of the season in 24-25. They can’t all be wrong.

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

I tend not to do “content”, never mind “happy”. The days and weeks after March 16 were great. Was I desperate for a trophy? Probably not as desperate as I was to see us do our best. We did, giving me something to cherish for ever. Football keeps kicking us in the Henry Halls, we learn not to be greedy if we have half a brain. A team prepared to give everything to the cause is all I crave. Any title or trophy is a bonus. We are lucky that, in the words of my pal Big Nige at Wembley, “this is our time”.