This isn’t temporary at Newcastle United | OneFootball

I have noticed this a lot when they are talking about Newcastle United.

Journalists, pundits, rival fans, ex-players of other clubs, a common theme often comes into play.

A belief (a hope?) that what is happening at Newcastle United is only a temporary thing.

That normality will return, the preferred pecking order back in place.

Newcastle United simply brief interlopers, with the usual Premier League suspects to take back their regular ‘rightful’ places.

Points that Premier League clubs have accumulated across the course of these last three and a half seasons (second half of 2021/22, plus 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25), the last 133 rounds of Premier League matches:

294 Manchester City

283 Liverpool

278 Arsenal

218 Aston Villa

201 Manchester United

199 Tottenham

196 Chelsea

192 Brighton

These three and a half NUFC seasons of points showing 38 from 19 games in the second half of the 2021/22 season, then 71 (2022/23), 60 (2023/24) and 66 (2024/25).

With 235 points from their last 133 Premier League matches under Eddie Howe, that works out at 1.77 points per game, which over 38 matches would average out at 67 points per season.

When you look at what a points average per season would be for other clubs these past three and a half seasons, you get Villa 62 points a season, Man U 57, Tottenham and Chelsea 56 each, then Brighton 54 points per season.

Quite remarkable consistency for Eddie Howe and Newcastle United to be fourth top when accumulating points these past three and a half seasons and to average so high at 67 points per season.

I find it amusing when some outsiders try to point out 2023/24 as a season that ‘proves’ Newcastle United are only up there competing on a temporary basis, as United ‘only’ finished seventh. Especially considering that was the worst ever season for injuries in Newcastle United history across the 2023/24 PL campaign and the Sandro Tonali suspension that year as well. Whilst it is also two years since Eddie Howe was able to bring in a new first team contender due to PSR and had to sell two of the club’s best young talents last summer. Yet Newcastle United still managed 60 points when ending up seventh in 2023/24.

You then compare that seventh place Newcastle position to the fact that Chelsea were 12th in 2022/23, Man U 15th in 2024/25 and Spurs only 17th last season (2024/25).

Not forgetting as well, most of the Premier League clubs you see above, having much larger wage bills than Newcastle and also have spent more on their squads.

What Eddie Howe has done at Newcastle United is a miracle, all of these Premier League points AND two Wembley finals, including a trophy.

After a couple of years of having to totally rein it on transfers and indeed having to sell two of NUFC’s best young prospects, Newcastle United now this summer see themselves back into a far better PSR position and will be able to be ambitious again in the summer 2025 transfer market.

Eddie Howe has managed to still produce positive consistency in such challenging circumstances, so why can’t he carry that on in a more advantageous financial/PSR climate?