Is this really the new expectation from Newcastle United fans?

Of course we all want to forget the Ashley era (rightly so), but those years of neglect will take time to overturn.

The idea that Top 4 is now an expectation rather than an ambition, is nuts. There’s still a big gap between us and the Big Six in terms of finances and squad strength.

With FFP rules in places, you can’t cheat that process. You have to gradually bridge that gap. Of course it doesn’t mean it’s impossible to compete right at the top (as we showed in 22/23), but it does mean that it can’t be an expectation for that to happen consistently (yet).

As for the managerial situation, Howe has so far done a phenomenal job. European form in his first season to keep us up with ease, a 4th place finish and a cup final in his second season, and then 7th place in his third season while being surrounded by loads of new challenges and issues.

It’s easy to say what he could’ve done differently in hindsight, but often those takes come with the assumption that those changes would’ve resulted in a different result. For example, Hall not playing instead of Burn earlier, or Howe prioritizing the recovery of Joelinton and Pope in the recent match vs Man Utd by not starting them.

There was more than good reason to make both the decisions he did in those examples, but it’s not reasonable to pin this season on those moments by assuming that doing differently would’ve guaranteed more points.

Add in the injury crisis, the lack of squad depth we have, the fixture congestion – and you can’t reasonably expect performances not to drop to some degree.

On the topic of squad depth, we’re miles off any of the Big Six sides. We haven’t had enough time to build the depth that they have, and it’s why we’re still relying on some of the guys from the Rafa era. Same goes with the academy, they all produce much better quality talents, because of what they’ve invested in the academy.

And on both counts – squad depth and academy products – it…

Source link : https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2024/05/27/is-this-really-the-new-expectation-of-newcastle-united-fans/

Author : Sanjay

Publish date : 2024-05-27 08:25:53

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