Newcastle United would still have had Mike Ashley and Steve Bruce and be where Sunderland are | OneFootball

Now we are in between seasons, we wanted to get a Newcastle United fans snapshot of opinion.

The idea is to get a range of views of what various Mag writers (Newcastle United fans) think about what has happened and the current position.

Then most importantly, what is going to happen at Newcastle United moving forward.

So we have sent various regular and irregular contributors sets of questions, including some the same as others, some different.

Next up we have David Punton:

Three words to describe Newcastle United now?

Credible. Transformed. Stable.

What do you think Eddie Howe’s first choice eleven will be next season, with all the current squad available and the summer signings you think will be made. So if you think in a position a summer signing will be Eddie’s first choice, please just put ‘summer signing’.

Pope, Trippier, Schar, Burn, Hall, Bruno, Joelinton, Tonali, Gordon, Isak, New Signing.

There is a lot up in the air about how much business United can do this summer due PSR regulations.

I think we already pretty much know Lloyd Kelly will be into the defence at some point. Will there also be another new centre half?

I’d like to see a new right sided attacker and if I’m greedy, more striker cover.

Then we simply must have more depth at goalkeeper. At time of writing it looks like James Trafford from Burnley could come in and understudy Pope. That would allow Dubravka to move on. Which would leave Mark Gillespie as third choice instead of fourth choice.

On the right of attack – there are so many names we would love to see. Morgan Gibbs-White seems to one that keeps cropping up. Then there is Yankuba Minteh. The Gambian star has been immense at Feyenoord and he’s our player. The notion of selling him for a quick buck seems bonkers. He should be given a chance. He looks very good and it’s telling some big names have been linked with him.

What do you see as the minimum this season?

We have to look up – always. Under these owners we are more than just project 40 points.

I think we need to aim for European football again. This time round we won’t have the Champions League distraction sapping our strength in the run up to Xmas.

Predict the top five in the Premier League (in order).

Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Man Utd, Spurs.

The best five NUFC performances last season (in order).

Thanks to the Eddie Howe brand there is plenty to choose from!

PSG (H): The pinnacle. A night that will be long remembered, like Barca home from 1997 is fabled. In against some of the best in the world and blew them to bits.

Sheff Utd (A): Our biggest away league victory – ever. Total football from Howe. Executed by the players to absolute perfection.

West Ham (H): The manner of the win got the blood pumping. A truly thrilling comeback to silence the cockney boys and edge Moyes closer to the exit.

Villa (A): We went to Villa Park with the home side flying and zoning in on the top four. Yet we showed them up, aided by Schar scoring two in the game. Quite astonishing.

Mackems (A) (FA Cup): We’d suffered derby defeats in the Ashley years so this was sweet revenge on Wearside. I had this one in just ahead of beating Spurs 4-0, which was also hilarious.

The five most important Newcastle players for this 2024/25 season (in order)?

Bruno. Botman, Pope, Joelinton. Isak.

The current NUFC player that you have been proved most wrong about?

Joelinton. He remains the most astonishing of turn arounds. A tank. A man mountain. I wouldn’t swap him for anything. I’d take keeping him even if it meant losing Bruno.

Press a magic button and have a 62,000 capacity enlarged St James’ Park in place, or a brand new 80,000 capacity stadium just up the road at Castle Leazes ?

The great debate. Stay at SJP or leave for new stadium nearby.

I just love St James’ Park and hate the idea of having to leave it.

The owners, in my view, ought to extend the Gallowgate and completely refit the rest of the current stadium. If they can add extra seats on the East Stand, then great, but not if it means the place looking like a giant green house.

An expanded SJP, in my view, is more than adequate for what we need. Any plan will need to wait until after 2028 Euros though, so it’s a fair way off.

The new stadium idea sounds great but it’s the break with tradition and the location. Any plan to concrete over moors and parks will run into opposition. Some fans many recall the late 1990s and the ‘No Business on the Moor’ campaign when Sir John Hall tried to push ahead with plans to leave SJP.

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 League Cup in one of the three?

The cup win. All day. Silverware is what we crave. It’s long overdue. It’s the Holy Grail. We have to win a cup one year, surely.

Now 32 months after the takeover, what are your thoughts on the Newcastle United owners?

Transformative. Without Amanda Staveley’s persistence we would still be saddled with Mike Ashley, Steve Bruce and we’d be where Sunderland are, more than likely. The club needed change and the new regime brought it.

They’ve been a breath of fresh air.

You can argue not everything has been correct but it’s a world away from the previous 14 years and it needs to be seen as a long term rebuild.

With the summer business you are anticipating, what could NUFC be capable of next season?

The problem is the Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

This layer of regulation has many clubs in a straitjacket and Newcastle will be hindered.

With what we have got and what we might be able to do, then realistically maybe top six at best.

Your thoughts on Sandro Tonali as he is set to be available to play from the end of August 2024 onwards?

He owes the club and the fans, big time. What a let down to hear of the charges and then the ban. He has to come back and repay us all as much as he can.

I think he will do this and will be a really exciting addition to our flagging midfield.

It’s a cliché but he will be like a new signing.

Would you like to draw Sunderland again in one of the cups this coming season?

Yes and no! It’s a love hate affair with the derby games. On balance we’d all love another game against them, especially as they appear to be in a right mess and being run on the Mike Ashley model.

Scale of 1-10, how interested in England at the Euros?

6.5. I do like to watch England games, even if they don’t have the same draw as Newcastle Utd matches.

I do want to see England do well and Trippier / Gordon’s involvement has helped boost my interest in the Three Lions. The problem is Southgate. The football is terrible, slow, sterile and pretty dull.

An 8. You can’t beat watching some of the very best football nations slug it out, a bracket England fall short from every time we get to the tournament. At time of writing it is still the group stages, two games in.