Newcastle United infrastructure now means no falling apart if manager Eddie Howe leaves for any reason | OneFootball

After the Premier League played out the very final round of matches, we are now into the Newcastle United close season.

An ideal time to get a snapshot of views from Newcastle United fans on how they think things are going.

So we sent out various sets of questions to a number of regular / irregular contributors to The Mag.

Next up we have Aaron Gales:

Compare and contrast how this Eddie Howe era feels compared to the Kevin Keegan and Sir Bobby Robson eras. Talk about whatever – the quality of players, tactics, the potential, excitement, whatever.

I think it feels less emotional which I think is a good thing in the long-term. Both those eras were driven by the passion and emotion of two managers who were passionate and emotional men.

I think the success we enjoyed during those periods was ultimately driven by those two individuals, which was highlighted by the struggles we suffered in the aftermath of Keegan and Robson leaving.

While Eddie Howe has undoubtedly played a huge role in the turnaround of Newcastle United, I think there is now fantastic infrastructure running throughout the whole Club which means that should Eddie Howe leave for any reason, the whole thing wouldn’t fall apart.

It feels like there is a sensible long-term plan in place which should see us challenging for trophies and European football consistently for the next decade, regardless of who is picking the team.

If no summer signings, what would be your 11 players to kick off the 2023/24 PL season?

This is a tough one to answer as it just doesn’t seem to be a plausible scenario but assuming we are playing the same system then I wouldn’t anticipate too many changes.

Most of the defence picks itself. Pope in goal and then Trippier, Schar and Botman. The only question mark for me would be over Dan Burn at left back, who I thought was pretty inconsistent from February onwards. I thought Matt Targett played a really important role in helping us stay up in the 2021/22 season and in my view is far more accomplished going forward than Burn. Providing he can stay fit I could see Targett perhaps usurping Burn.

In midfield I would stick with Joelinton, Bruno and Sean Longstaff, with Joe Willock unlucky to miss out.

Front three is probably the trickiest area of the pitch for me. Long-term I don’t think Isak and Wilson can play in the same team from the start as they are both stronger through the middle.

I would therefore pick Maxi on the left, Isak through the middle and Almiron on the right. Wilson clearly unlucky to miss out and I don’t think it will be too long before Anthony Gordon is pushing for a starting place in the wide areas.

Your top five stand out NUFC matches of the 2022/23 season for whatever reasons. Please explain your choices.

Newcastle 3-3 Manchester City – absolutely outplayed the best team in Europe for an hour, setting a marker for the rest of the season.

Arsenal 0-0 Newcastle – we rattled Mikel Arteta and his side and I think that game really showed how determined we were to not just roll over for the big sides like we have done in the past. We were prepared to get nasty to get a result.

Newcastle 2-0 Man U – after the disappointment of losing in the League Cup final, all hopes turned towards securing a spot in the top four and the UEFA Champions League. More impressive than the scoreline was the performance. We were totally dominant and should have won by more.

Newcastle 6-1 Tottenham – an extraordinary performance which offered a sharp riposte to any critics after the disappointing result against Aston Villa the previous week.

It was a stunning result in front of a disbelieving St James Park.

Newcastle 4-1 Brighton – Arguably one of the toughest games we faced in our run in to the end of the season and we were absolutely brilliant in the first 45 minutes, with our pressing game rattling Roberto De Zerbi’s impressive side. Very tense second half after Brighton got one back early but the atmosphere when Wilson scored the third and Bruno put the icing on the cake with a late fourth was remarkable.

What is your current position with access to home tickets, away tickets? What changes would you like to see the club make, if any?

I think it’s a really difficult thing to get right for any club and I think they are doing a reasonable job of it.

What was your prediction for the 2022/23 Newcastle United season and how did that change / evolve over these past 10 months, what key turning points and/or milestones etc?

Looking back I’m really not sure. I think top 10 would have been a minimum requirement given how well we finished last season and how we invested in the summer. I think I was just pleased to be going into a season feeling confident that we wouldn’t be in a relegation battle and that we might have a go in the Cups.

So it wildly surpassed my expectations and hopes for the season. As the season grew on I think it would have been a missed opportunity had we missed out on the top four given we had been in the reckoning for most of the season, but I would have been happy with the return of European football, whatever competition that was in.

Describe the typical build up to a game this past 18 months compared to before the takeover. How it felt, what you did differently, whatever?

I’ve not done anything differently but the feeling around the game has changed. I went into every single match this season thinking we had an opportunity to win the game. I think as a fan of any football club that’s all you can ask for really.

Might not be a popular opinion but I think we’ll just miss out on top four next season, with the extra demands placed on us in Europe and the likely improvement of Liverpool seeing us just miss out.