This is perhaps the most difficult of all the Newcastle United questions | OneFootball

The 2024/25 Premier League season is fast approaching for every Newcastle United fan.

Only three days now until United host Southampton and it all kicks off again.

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 The Armchair Fan:

Upcoming 2024/25 season, would you rather win the League Cup or finish Premier League top four?

This is perhaps the most difficult of all the questions.

If I had to choose, I’d probably go for a top four finish, as it’s so important these days for the development of a club.

The fact we haven’t ever won a trophy in my lifetime however, does make me think I should choose winning the league Cup. Can I not just have both?

As things stand, what could this NUFC squad be capable of next season?

We’re ‘capable’ of winning the league, although I don’t think we will, prove me wrong lads!

I remember Sir Bobby saying once that he was asked in 1990 if England were capable of winning the world cup and he said yes, which led to a newspaper headline along the lines of ‘We will win the world cup.’

His response to that was ‘I can eat six eggs for breakfast but that doesn’t mean I will eat six eggs for breakfast.’ Only Sir Bobby!

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

Very, very optimistic!

I tend to be an eternal optimist when it comes to NUFC even at the worst of times and I can’t wait for this season to start.

We’ve kept our most important players and have the likes of Barnes, Willock, Joelinton, Pope and Tonali to come back into the team. We’ve got a tremendous first eleven that looks like it may even be strengthened further with the hopeful addition of Guehi. I think the absence of Europe will benefit us greatly and we can really make an impact this season in both the league and cups.

Three words to describe Eddie Howe?

Calm, Pragmatic and Respected.

We’ve been blessed with some good, bad and downright ugly Toon managers in my three decades of being a fan. Thankfully, the current one fits into the bracket of Keegan, Sir Bobby, Hughton and Rafa, rather than certain others who shall remain nameless!

What do you see as the minimum this season?

Top six in the league and a good run in one of the cups (semi final at least) would be a steady improvement on last season. Anything more than that would be brilliant.

Hand on heart, where do you think Newcastle will finish in the 2024/25 Premier League?

Fifth, although I’m desperate for top four and another adventure in the champions league.

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

1st Gordon – his goals and assists contribution was immense and you can see how hard he worked on his fitness after winning the Euro under 21s championship as player of the tournament.

2nd Isak – goals win games!

3rd Bruno – he inspires the whole team and appears capable of raising the performance everyone around him.

4th Pope – he was a big miss when out last season and it will be great to have him back.

5th Schar – plenty of games, very versatile and always a good bet to chip in with a goal or two. A modern day Philippe Albert, which is high praise indeed.

Is it still a Premier League big six, or is it seven (incl NUFC), or is it an eight (incl NUFC and Villa)?

I think globally there will always be huge power houses of the Premier League such as Liverpool and Man United. In terms of league positions however, it’s becoming more and more blurred, which is great to see.

NUFC and Villa qualifying for the champions league in successive seasons has really put the cat amongst the pigeons when you look at some of the so-called big six that have missed out.

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 ?

Definitely, definitely, definitely keep St James’ Park where it is. It’s iconic and was a huge part of my childhood. I’d be devastated if we ever moved.

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

Can’t wait to have him back and get him firing on all cylinders!

Looks absolutely class and I’m a huge fan of anything that gives me an excuse to drink Moretti and eat Spaghetti!

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

Living in Manchester, it was great to finally have a team I could root for along with everyone else.

I watched every England match and celebrated every goal so 10/10 (Not a patch on the Toon mind!).

How much of a difference, if any, does it make having two NUFC players in the England team/squad?

It makes a big difference.

When I was kid we had Shearer, Lee and Batty regularly playing for England. I even had a poster on my wall of Sir Les Ferdinand scoring the winning goal against Bulgaria.