What happened?! – A balanced view on a brutal summer at Newcastle United

The last three months have been draining, chaotic and have ultimately ended in disappointing fashion, as we ended Friday’s deadline day with No Marc Guehi, no new right-winger and no signing that improves last season’s stating 11.

Fans have been left confused and frustrated, Darren Eales and Paul Mitchell are under pressure and must explain what’s gone on and there’s a feeling that Eddie Howe hasn’t been backed, even if PSR limited some of our spending power once again. So, what did go wrong?

The Dan Ashworth saga dragged on and the end of June’s PSR deadline was a total mess, not only forcing us to sell two of your best young talents to avoid a points deduction, but seeing us flirt with the idea of selling Anthony Gordon in the process.

Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi’s exits followed soon after, which felt sad and destabilising given their passion, presence, rapport with Howe, players and fans. That was a slightly mystery, then in early July Paul Mitchell was appointed as our new sporting director. A smart appointment, but a bit late in the transfer window considering his “90% recruitment” remit meant a totally new dynamic for Howe and a likely reset of transfer plans just as we should’ve been moving for top targets.

Taking it back slightly, I wonder if not signing Tosin Adarabioyo felt like an early blow that scrambled our plans, as I imagine his ‘free transfer’ would’ve allowed the bulk of our remaining budget to be spent on a top right-winger in the months that remained. That isn’t an excuse for what followed, however. We had plenty of time to reset our plans and ultimately failed to sign two of our top priorities in the three months that followed.

I understand the need to avoid panic buys, to sign the “right players” and avoid wasting money on deals that don’t make sense or could backfire in time, but we’ve known all year that we needed a centre-back and right-winger. It’s hard to believe how we’ve not…

Source link : https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2024/08/31/what-happened-a-balanced-view-on-a-brutal-summer-at-newcastle-united/

Author : Olly Hawkins

Publish date : 2024-08-31 06:55:20

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