I’m sure someone said they wanted us to be number one, if only there was a way of influencing that… | OneFootball

So, having made my way back from Glasgow along with 10,000+ other Newcastle United fans, there’s a bit of dust settling on the humbling at Celtic, while the team jets off to the far east to hopefully start putting things right.

As ever, the reactions have varied to the worrying elements of our current situation and the post-match conversations were a bit up and down in my group.

The sensible, moderate approach is to accept that Celtic was a friendly, against a side further down the route of preparation with a mixed up team. With four weeks until the start of the season and six weeks of the transfer window remaining, there is time to get things on track for a big year ahead.

Alternatively, there’s always a spot of preparing for disaster in these considerations, with miserable prospects being discussed, such as Eddie Howe leaving, PIF allowing Newcastle United to flounder as they focus on their other enterprises and basically everyone refusing to sign for us ever again, as septic six clubs jump in on every single transfer negotiation we attempt.

It was even mentioned that if things were to go horribly irretrievably wrong, this incarnation of Newcastle United at least gave us that day at Wembley in March, a standout success that now can’t ever be taken away. There was one point at the height of the misery of the previous ownership where I wondered if it would ever get better than the win over Barnsley that was augmented by Jack Grealish intervening to send the Championship title our way. It felt like that was the height of feasible ambition when it came to Newcastle United tasting success. That ghost has been exorcised.

Ironic maybe, that some of the main players from that day feature heavily in the current situation haunting us. The spectre of Liverpool potentially taking Alexander Isak may have been busted by their apparently securing Hugo Ekitike instead (were we ever really serious about him?) but worries persist.

Tales of the ubiquitous interest from the Saudi league may or may not have validity (the irony if one of PIF’s alternative projects deals a hammer blow to ours). The fact that lurking predators may pounce next summer, when a more vulnerable two years remain on Isak’s contract is stated in just about every commentary as all is silent on the contract front.

Eddie Howe sending Alexander Isak home rather than watching the game at Parkhead for the benefit of Isak’s own headspace doesn’t sound ideal, nor does tattle in the media now of the “not for sale” stance possibly having the caveat of “unless you’ve got £150 million.”

There is of course another consideration, which is the question of when it becomes a good idea to actually sell our prize asset?

It’s been mooted that fees in the 150m range are not to be sniffed at, that this sort of sum could prompt a transformative squad rebuild, where not only is Isak’s replacement secured, but multiple positions of need elsewhere without getting near the old PSR bother. There’s even mitigation that we’re talking about a player who has occasional struggles with soft tissue injuries, with the clear struggles of the final weeks of the season just gone, a classic case of why we need a solid supporting/alternative striker.

This is all devil’s advocate though and there’s one standout statistic as to why we shouldn’t countenance the sale of Alexander Isak at any price.

Last season, when giving us the lead against Brentford in the first game after the cup final, Isak became the first Newcastle United player in the Premier League era to score 20 goals in two consecutive seasons.

There are levels to this, when you consider the calibre of some of the players to have had multiple seasons in those stripes in the last 30+ years.

Add in the fact his debut season saw a very respectable 10 goals in 17 starts and his crucial cup goals of recent times, then you see what a gold nugget we have here. Sometimes players have one good season and their value rockets off the back of it. Isak has had three. Consistency as a prolific goalscorer in the Premier League is a near-impossible commodity and it should be protected at all costs.

For what it’s worth, I suspect that we retain our main man.

Liverpool have been rebuffed (for now), Arsenal are also looking elsewhere and Saudi is unlikely to fit with the player’s ambitions, even if they do offer infinity pounds.

The main threat from the major clubs of Europe may come in later times…and would be a sight easier to swallow than a sale to a fellow Premier League side. The situation this now creates is another season of high stakes.

I’ve been asked a few times what success would look like for Newcastle United in the season ahead, although I am reserving final judgement until we see how the transfer situation plays out.

Regardless, I’d suggest that progress into the Champions League knockouts and an improvement on our league position is representative of progress, and should be enough to keep the upward trajectory to appeal to any potential future incomings. A trophy is not impossible but may be unfeasible given the agenda we face.

If the above scenario is achieved or even improved on, I think there’s a possibility of longer term commitment from Alexander Isak and our other prize assets. Remember, a contract extension can be arranged at any point, it doesn’t need to be in a transfer window. A fall off from the above, even to the relatively modest extent of 23/24 might see the whole show start to unravel. Having delivered a standout campaign against the odds last year, it seems like Eddie and the lads need to repeat the trick.

For this to happen we surely need to improve in this window, which is not news for anyone. The retention of Isak and quality additions in the three key positions (you know the ones) would absolutely set this up, but a shortfall here could see the growing malaise become a problem.

As this plays out, it’s probably advisable to stay off social media.

Newcastle United fans naive enough to engage are getting involved in rows with legions of anonymous Liverpool accounts who are either looking for engagement or just aren’t very well developed people. It’s worth remembering that this is a fan base that was absolutely class when we had that big win at Wembley, with every Liverpool fan I met that evening in London being magnanimous and honest about being gutted to lose the League Cup, but appreciative of how much it meant to us. This was even reflected online, before you hit the usual cesspit of desperate saddos who have grown to believe that vitriolic defence of a successful side you have latched onto somehow makes you a winner.

Fans from further afield who grow a genuine affinity with a club and the community around it, will have a far more rewarding experience than keyboard warriors trying to pick a fight no one wants with people they know nothing about. As we grow as a club, I’d hope we can be the sort of successful fans I met at Wembley as opposed to the online wet wipes, even allowing for the omnipotent minority.

Once again we are at a crossroads to see if we can ever fulfil that position of perennial winners. I’m sure someone said they wanted us to be number one, if only there was a way of influencing that, eh?