The thought of Newcastle United parting with Bruno Guimaraes makes me sad | OneFootball

Newcastle United fans have just seen the 2024/25 Premier League season come to its end.

A season that has proved to be quite magnificent.

As one season ends though, thoughts immediately turn to what comes next, only 11 weeks to go until the 2025/26 Premier League kicks off.

An ideal time to get a snapshot of views from Newcastle United fans on their thoughts, both on the season that has just ended AND what is to now follow.

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

Next up answering the questions we have Jamie Smith:

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

Quite pleased actually

Three words to describe Newcastle United now?

Bound for greatness

Does 2024/25 now rank as your favourite ever Newcastle United season?

Absolutely, and anyone who says otherwise, is either very old or wrong.

Someone quoted 95/96 back at me, I think under the assumption I was too young to properly remember it. But as a ST holder then who attended the crushing away games at Liverpool and Blackburn, that season holds painful memories for me.

The League Cup in itself would probably have made this a standout winner even if Man Utd hadn’t baked us out last Sunday, but the fact we have qualified directly for the Champions League group stage for only the second time whilst winning that elusive cup, makes it beyond question. There’s also the optimism you can look forward with, whereas positive seasons of the past were almost exclusively the precursors of depressing implosions.

Which are your three favourite previous NUFC seasons (before 2024/25) and why?

I’m running with a personal vibe here, as 2003/04 was a decent season on the pitch, but I was young, unattached and went to a massive amount of games with different mates, calling in to see friends around the country as United visited their locality.

Then 2010/11 was similar, I took my (now) wife to her first ever away game and the lads I go the match with now were fully assembled. Decent season back in the Premier after relegation and the last season of full freedom to travel as my first child arrived before the end of the following year.

Finally, I’ll say 2022/23, the breakthrough season where it became apparent all was looking up post-takeover, my son’s first year as a season ticket holder and some memorable days out along the way.

Talk us through how it was for you, on the last day of the 2024/25 season (Your emotions, how it all played out, where you were watching it (at SJP or wherever), who you shared it with?

I am a bit spiky about this one, as that game could have bothered the all time top ten list had it went differently.

The game being so insipid and dreadful made for a stressful and unpleasant afternoon. I was there in my usual seat and minutes after Everton went ahead I went to the toilet, which I’d didn’t need, but I had to get up and walk around as a coping mechanism for the anxiety.

Man U scoring settled this down immensely but there’s still that air of uncertainty when you can’t get the live updates in the ground. Once their second went in it was pure relief and this overwhelmed the disappointment of the day as the season is an unmitigated success.

It still feels like the chance to celebrate it properly was missed due to the game disappointing and it’s exactly the sort of fixture we need to address going into next season.

In order, which eight players have been most influential across the 2024/25 season?

Isak, Tonali, Burn, Murphy, Joelinton, Hall, Bruno, Trippier

The last one might raise eyebrows, but his return to the team and his form of old, was influential in the cup win and the run that followed. Injury taking him out of the team coincided with a small fall off at the end of the season.

Have you at any point during his time at Newcastle United, thought that Eddie Howe’s position should be under question?

No. I think when things just weren’t working earlier this season it may have been valid to question whether change was needed if this persisted to the summer, but anyone sane, would realise he had the right to see the year out at the very least. The turnaround vindicated the man who has delivered despite PSR restrictions, constant boardroom churn and no new signings in two years. He’s been incredible and that means he deserves patience when the chips are down.

Your favourite three moments in NUFC Premier League matches this past season?

Bruno’s goal against Chelsea that sealed a big win and, as it turns out, clinched Champions League.

Wolves at home, a ninth straight win that kept us right in it at the top and a celebration of navigating straight wins over Villa, Man Utd and Spurs

And, much as I feel well-disposed towards them after last weekend, hammering Man Utd at home will never get old.

What are your thoughts on Newcastle United Sporting Director Paul Mitchell leaving?

This is far from ideal ahead of a crucial summer of recruitment but I’m astonished at the hysterical reaction in some quarters.

Targets should be in place and Steve Nickson, Andy Howe and Eddie himself, have been central to a string of hits in terms of inbound signings so no one should have any fears about getting the right men in over the summer. If we need someone to seal the deal on difficult negotiations, I recommend Kevin Keegan, that man can sell Newcastle like no other.

Sunderland are now back in the same division as NUFC, your thoughts?

Still as ever. I’d rather play Sheffield United than a side that will raise their game considerably for us, willingly surrender to our rivals and look to hurt our players as kickabillys, such as that O’Nien, trying to appease the atrocious mackem mindset by going in knee high from behind on Tonali or Bruno.

Having said, promoted teams have been chewed up and spat out in frightening fashion recently, and every one of them was a far more convincing prospect than the 4th place, play-off fluking, Sunderland side. These derbies offer the prospect of scoring a couple of heavy wins that will exorcise some of those six in a row ghosts. These derbies offer the prospect of a couple of heavy wins that will exorcise those six in a row ghosts. They will doubtless require more exertion than Sheff U would have though, so I’m hoping both fixtures fall away from European games.

What would represent success in the 2025/26 season for Newcastle United?

It’s a hard act to follow.

I’m going to say more of the same, a cup and Champions League qualification.

The stretch target, with the right signings, should be to challenge for the Premier League, and if that is on I’d forgive going trophyless if we have a good go at the title, even if we do lose out to a usual suspect.

What do you see as the minimum to achieve this coming season?

I’d say European qualification of some sort is the minimum.

A look at recent years tells you most top clubs have to tolerate the odd season out of the CL, but the recent change in formats has made the Europa incredibly winnable, which is a big silver lining.

Predict the top six in the Premier League (in order) and which three clubs will be relegated.

This is a shocker to ask this question before the summer window, so I’d stress this is a punt and reserve the right to revise my guess ahead of the first round of matches.

My assumptions here are that Liverpool sign Wirtz as mooted and Man City don’t get into points deduction territory should their endless case about their charges finally draw to a conclusion

Liverpool Man City Newcastle Arsenal Chelsea Villa

Relegation is Sunderland by an hilarious distance and Burnley repeating the Groundhog Day of realising their solid defensive game in the championship gets destroyed in the Prem. For Leeds to survive they need new players and more so, a collapse at one of the solid 17 clubs, like if Iraola leaves Bournemouth and they fall apart, or Frank follows likely big players exiting Brentford.

Name a Newcastle player who you think could be a massive surprise success this coming season, doing far better than most fans expect.

A good question. If Callum Wilson accepts a pay as you play deal and weighs in with a few goals as a third choice striker, that would be a relative renaissance, considering that I would suggest he’s been injured out of all contention and many others would share the view.

I don’t think that will happen though, so here’s a mad one: Sean Longstaff. I can see him being sold but with chat of Willock leaving I doubt the club would let both go. Longstaff then gets a bit of game time and the chance to recapture the form of the past, with many having written him off.

Who do you see as the six most important current Newcastle players (in order) for next (2025/26) season?

Isak (goals), Tonali (class), Botman (staying fit), Joelinton (damage), Bruno (swearing), Gordon (recapturing).

With NUFC now having won a trophy…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?

Awful prospects both, I’ll take the league finishes as we’ve now had the cup win to tide us over for a bit.

What do you think was the key moment in the 2024/25 season, the turning point maybe, which then set us eventually on track to success?

I’m going to go slightly different to what most will likely say.

The moment for me is Tonali’s excellent opening goal against Brentford in the League Cup quarter final. The turnaround had begun with the thrashing of Leicester but through the indifferent times the Carabao Cup offered the prospect of salvation. Getting off to such a stellar start set the tone for a comfortable win against a tricky opponent that set up a semi-final and kicked on a season-defining winning run. The work behind the scenes had apparently been done in the week following the away defeat against the same opponent, but this was the night it all came together.

If Newcastle United had ended up outside the Champions League places on the final day, would this last season have had a bit of failure attached to it?

It would still have been the greatest season ever, but yes, particularly the way it happened, losing to Everton when a draw would have likely done.

Without CL you’d have spent the summer worrying about clubs who had qualified tempting our stars and had less clout and PSR space to lure the signings required to take it up a notch.

Which players do you think would be ideal (and realistic) signings this summer (don’t feel limited to only players who have been linked to Newcastle United in the media)?

I think Mbeumo would be a perfect addition – right sided attacker who could be the main striker in any Isak absence. Xavi Simons is a similar player I’d love in that role.

I’m drawn to Guehi because Howe seems desperate for him and that always bodes well. I’d also like a running attacking midfielder as Willock seems to be a shadow of himself, I don’t suppose Jamal Musiala is feasible? Maybe Gibbs-White, or that Liberali kid from feeder club Milan.

Any Newcastle players you would be ok with leaving, that might surprise other NUFC fans (Including any where you think the money received for them and the extra PSR flexibility it would give, could then lead to an overall better team/squad)

There was chat of Man City being in for Livramento, which would not be welcome. However, if they bid stupid money this could be transformative in terms of incomings, if you retain Trippier as cover and sign a replacement RB.

There’s a thought that with Tonali settled into that deep lying role, a big fee for Bruno might not be as damaging as it once threatened to be, but the thought of Newcastle United parting with Bruno Guimaraes makes me sad.