What can Newcastle achieve next season?

Newcastle completed the task of an immediate return to the Premier League on Monday evening with a 4-1 over Preston North End. Promotion is a remarkable achievement and one we can all be thankful to Rafa and the players for. Exciting times hopefully lie ahead and thoughts already turn to next season. Just how well we can do in the top flight this time round?

What have other newly promoted teams accomplished?

Over the past 5/6 years, we have seen the likes of West Ham, Southampton, Crystal Palace, Swansea and Leicester all come up and do well. We have also witnessed some yo-yo teams like Hull City, Burnley and QPR, alongside one season wonders like Reading.

Watford came up recently and finished 13th in their first season and Burnley came up this year and look like they are safe too. There is no reason why Newcastle should not be matching or bettering teams like this, or the now established Premier league sides mentioned above.

What level of player can we attract?

In modern day football and the money now involved, investment in new players is central to any success. Most neutrals will agree that Newcastle United, even newly promoted, can attract better players than quite a few lower Premier League teams, such as Bournemouth and Burnley for example.  We will hopefully be operating in slightly different field to the usual brief of a newly promoted side. Our stadium, tradition and fan base has always meant we have been able to pull off some ambitious transfer moves, like Shearer, Owen or Kluivert. Even persuading Ritchie and Diame to drop a level last year was testament to this.

Add to this the lure of working under Rafa and a sizable budget and you would think we are well positioned around the top 10, targeting the same type of players as the likes of West Ham or Southampton. If we have a good season, there is no reason why we can’t then be fighting with the likes of Everton again in the years ahead.

There are a lot of good England internationals that are potentially available this summer. Rafa will certainly be aware that the likes of Sturridge, Shaw, Wilshere, Defoe, Oxlaide-Chamberlain and Shawcross may be available. If we could land some of those it would be a real sign of intent.

Conversely, last time we went up we secured the signatures of Ben Arfa and Tiote, who were highly thought of the continent. A mixture of recruitment home and abroad may be on the cards this time and I certainly think Newcastle will be able to surprise a few. If Rafa is backed, some exciting players will arrive.

Cup runs?

The appointment of Rafa has meant that we finally have a manager who Ashley has allowed to prioritise cups alongside league exploits. This was proven with our run to the League Cup Quarter finals this year, despite being a Championship side. I think Rafa targeted the league cup as a more realistic option with the top teams not going full strength for it. This accounted for us then resting players in our dismal defeat at Oxford in the FA Cup – it was not as a realistic trophy chance (look who was in the FA cup semis).

With a better squad next year, expect more of the same and a high importance finally placed on a cup run. Perhaps we can even get back to Wembley and not just for Spurs away in the league…

So where can we finish?

The benefit of having an ambitious and world renowned manager means that if we back him and he stays, we have every chance of achieving things. I think Rafa will aim for top 10 next year, even if he doesn’t publically admit it.

We need to keep Rafa as he is dragging the club and Mike Ashley with him to match his ambitions. I can’t see him staying to continually fight relegation every year – why would he when he can command job offers from home and abroad?

As always, there are lots of variables and ifs and buts. Rafa staying and us spending money are the key to all this but there is no reason why we can’t, if all goes well, (it usually doesn’t with Newcastle, look at the tax arrests today) squeeze into the top 10 and have a real go at the cups. Here’s hoping anyway.

About Simon Riddlesden

Lifelong Newcastle United fan and East Stand season ticket holder. Observations from a supporter who has followed NUFC during Champions League participation and through relegation, taking me from Milan to Scunthorpe.

48 thoughts on “What can Newcastle achieve next season?

  1. Thanks Simon, good read.
    Well bloody hell I go out for the day get back and our chairmans in the clink 🙄 never a dull moment with the Toon. Get promoted then the sky falls in, are we likely to get points deducted for this or what, anyone know?

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  2. Re the Article, I would like to think we are a tempting prospect with Rafa at the helm, but Ashley has to back him or I fear he’s away.

    Ice and Stem nice to see you back on again. 🙂

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  3. Sounds like Charnley has been released without being charged. It also seems like this is primarily centered around palyers’ agents, so it may turn out that the club and Charnley have done nothing wrong. Either way, they won’t deduct points from this current season, as even after the HMRC finishes their investigation, the FA will likely need to conduct their own.

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  4. They investigated both NUFC and West Ham…but the link is Marseille.

    The initial Thauvin transfer stank and the loan back to buy even more. Point at the player and the manager but they had no control over transfers and with the past history and recruitment ethos past, it never made sense. Backhander central by the sounds of it!

    Charnley released without charge, media have a furore citing Swindon Town in the early nighties, Leeds with a 15 point deduction. Absolute field day for them and the perfect club to take down a peg. “Oh the poor Geordies” I hear them cry. “alas!” through tears of joy.

    No smoke without fire of course but HMRC f*ck up my taxes every year and I’m due a rebate so I don’t trust their competence one bit anyway.

    Anyway, on to the Keegan comments (so many articles I don’t know which we are discussing) I agree and disagree. We should have walked the league with our finance and infrastructure….granted. However, to come 2nd to Brighton is to come second to a team who have been on a positive ascendancy for years whilst we hit rock bottom and have had to build and sort things quickly. Imagine one of those business graphs with a steady line going up and up as the team is settled and results are positive then imagine ours.

    Did alright considering.

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  5. Congratulations and well done to Benitez and the team for gaining promotion
    Not really sure what to make of the news about the HMRC investigation but its another unknown to add into the off season ups and downs

    Unapologetic idealist I may be but ethics lie at the root of everything IMO and i hate that my club are in anyway associated with illegal dealings. I really hope there’s nothing to it but if there is a case proven then the club will deserve what it gets

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  6. The ‘Club’ won’t deserve what it gets. That’s a bigger picture as that encompasses the players and fans.

    If you believe there is true ethics in football then bless you mate. It’s one of the major businesses in the world and where there is huge sums of money ethics become so blurred you can’t read them.

    You think Chelsea fans believe Roman Abramovich and his millions has been earned ethically? Do they care? Of course not they win things.

    If Lee Charnley (or any of his director/finance team – he is the boss so ultimately his responsibility) has been taking backhanders and fudging figures then throw the book at him.

    The fans and ‘club’ shouldn’t suffer but that’s life unfortunately.

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  7. S’right, infrastructure and finance are a basis. You need the will & competence to use them wisely and we’ve been clearly lacking those for some time.

    Benitez has done enough to suggest he could be the gel to bring it together and start that steady upward ascendancy. This is newcastle however and at best it’ll be bumpy

    Moreno:
    Anyway, on to the Keegan comments (so many articles I don’t know which we are discussing) I agree and disagree. We should have walked the league with our finance and infrastructure….granted. However, to come 2nd to Brighton is to come second to a team who have been on a positive ascendancy for years whilst we hit rock bottom and have had to build and sort things quickly. Imagine one of those business graphs with a steady line going up and up as the team is settled and results are positive then imagine ours.

    Did alright considering.

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  8. On to the article.

    If Rafa Benitez is Newcastle manager in 6 months I’ll eat my bobble hat with chilli sauce on.

    No chance.

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  9. By club, I was speaking of the powers at the club but i accept your point it’ll affect others

    Interestingly at away games which is all i get to attend and they are admittedly few and far between, the mood of fans was much more celebratory this season than recently.
    Question becomes if we’re winning do the fans really mind where we’re winning? Maybe/probably the majority do.

    Ideallist maybe .. naive no. I don’t think that ethics exist too much in football .. it’s primarily why I fell out of love long ago with the sport and now am only really interested in playing and following my club. The latter is a loyalty thing .. like having to care about family 😉

    I did clarify it was my thought so no i neither beleive chelsea fans or any other lot for that matter give a monkeys toss where the money comes from .. that’s the pity of it. People put wining above all else.

    Haha .. your last two paras are probably what i should’ve said

    Moreno:
    The ‘Club’ won’t deserve what it gets. That’s a bigger picture as that encompasses the players and fans.

    If you believe there is true ethics in football then bless you mate. It’s one of the major businesses in the world and where there is huge sums of money ethics become so blurred you can’t read them.

    You think Chelsea fans believe Roman Abramovich and his millions has been earned ethically? Do they care? Of course not they win things.

    If Lee Charnley (or any of his director/finance team – he is the boss so ultimately his responsibility) has been taking backhanders and fudging figures then throw the book at him.

    The fans and ‘club’ shouldn’t suffer but that’s life unfortunately.

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  10. I agree completely. Hear Hear.

    Unfortunately the consequence of people like you and me, our disillusion and our acceptance of things being the way they, are are commonplace and our football club is something we have no say in.

    I love all the positivism and looking forward. The dream of Rafa staying I just can’t see due to the same joker being in charge.

    Going way back when I wrote a lot for this site regarding ‘The Regime’ …. this was years ago and nothing has really changed. While he is there calling the shots, there will be another false down, another ‘Maybe this time…’ and a lot of media joy ‘Alas, the poor Geordies!’

    For a bit of nostalgia..

    https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2011/02/19/united-yet-divided-the-saga-of-the-fat-controller/

    https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2011/08/22/is-ashley-scamming-the-fans-media-and-players/

    https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2013/01/17/if-the-keeper-of-time-runs-slowly-he-wont-be-alive-for-long/

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  11. Moreno:
    On to the article.

    If Rafa Benitez is Newcastle manager in 6 months I’ll eat my bobble hat with chilli sauce on.

    No chance.

    i tend to agree mate,jabba has not even spoke to Rafa hasnt even said well done to him for getting the clubb up,what kind of man is he??,how can you work for a man that doesnt even speak to you,if i was Rafa i would be off 😈 😈

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  12. So talk toon are in talks about a swift takeover it seems, could be Qatar jabba asking a lot but it has not put them off,or is it just another storey???

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  13. Icedog:
    So talk toon are in talks about a swift takeover it seems, could be Qatar jabba asking a lot but it has not put them off,or is it just another storey???

    Please god let it be true Ice, there is zero chance of keeping Rafa here if Ashley remains owner imo. The championship is one thing but the PL demands huge funds for transfers just to stay in spitting distance of the top 10 and I think the fatman hasn’t the appetite to spend that type of cash or even the funds to.
    This tax business is another distraction we don’t need as well, Rafa may well want to distance himself from a club embroiled in such a scandal . It’s so frustrating that we always have to take 3 steps back after 1 forward, if Lee & co have been up to no good then we have to face the consequences but as always it’s the fans who are really shafted .

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  14. Ice: I was told off by one of the Aussies yesterday for suggesting Ashley might sell up. Just saying.

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  15. I heard months ago that 12 clubs and 53 agents were being investigated. If that’s the case it’s too big for any one club to be punished unduly. Big fines all round eventually is my guess. The agents are at the centre of it all. Charnley wasn’t even formally questioned.

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  16. Ashley will sell if he gets the right offer. The club is worth a lot of money now with the TV deals in the PL. His other more valuable assets need more of his resources and his time and he doesn’t need the hassle of owning NUFC. He knows his way of owning a football club isn’t working and costs him more and more money with relegation.

    He’s off when someone offers him £350m

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  17. Stuart: I do not see how anyone (BrisV) can see it as some sort of conspiracy theory that Ashley will be off if he gets the right offer. He has tried to sell the club before and let Charnley and Carr almost run it into the ground. He really has no interest in NUFC anymore – he doesn’t talk to the Manager and doesn’t attend games. His only reason for funding transfers was to protect his investment. I do not understand how certain individuals on here cannot see that.

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  18. kimtoon:
    Ice, is that a good source telling you that ?

    it was a reporter for HITC he seemed quite firm about it,said it had been going on for a while

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  19. Simon: I am looking at your list of available players and worry that we would be interested in Sturridge or Wilshere. We have seen with players like Steven Taylor that sicknotes tend to remain sicknotes. These 2 would probably be our highest paid players as well, demanding more than 100k per week to sit on the treatment table.

    I have never rated Wilshere anyway. I have watched him in quite a few Arsenal games and he will have one flash of brilliance but the rest of the time he runs around and points at other players to get the ball and cover for him. That may seem like blasphemy since he has been touted as the next big thing for the last 5 years. But really, how good can he be if Dan Gosling keeps him out of the team?

    The Ox is better than what we have but would probably demand a massive pay packet. Same with Shaw. Man U paid Jesse Lingard 100k a week so Shaw must also be on a canny whack.

    I am not trying to save the Fat Man’s money, just saying this lot are probably not worth what they would ask for in wages. It would be another Michael Owen situation with Wilshere and Sturridge.

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  20. And on the subject of Jesse Lingard. Doesn’t that show how crazy the premier league is? Jesse Lingard is paid 5.2 million pounds a year, GUARANTEED. Jesse Lingard!!!!

    Fatty pays his sweatshop workers in the far east a few pennies an hour and his warehouse workers in the UK as little as he can get away with. I doubt he will be splashing 200k a week (10.4 million a year) on Sturridge.

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  21. Eric Sykes:
    Simon: I am looking at your list of available players and worry that we would be interested in Sturridge or Wilshere. We have seen with players like Steven Taylor that sicknotes tend to remain sicknotes. These 2 would probably be our highest paid players as well, demanding more than 100k per week to sit on the treatment table.

    I have never rated Wilshere anyway. I have watched him in quite a few Arsenal games and he will have one flash of brilliance but the rest of the time he runs around and points at other players to get the ball and cover for him. That may seem like blasphemy since he has been touted as the next big thing for the last 5 years. But really, how good can he be if Dan Gosling keeps him out of the team?

    The Ox is better than what we have but would probably demand a massive pay packet. Same with Shaw. Man U paid Jesse Lingard 100k a week so Shaw must also be on a canny whack.

    I am not trying to save the Fat Man’s money, just saying this lot are probably not worth what they would ask for in wages. It would be another Michael Owen situation with Wilshere and Sturridge.

    agree 100% mate was starting to think i was the only one thinking that way,ive never ever thought Whiltshire was ccc level never mind PL

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  22. I’d take the Ox and maybe Sturridge. Not the others. Sturridge might only be fit half the season, but he would score goals and we need players guaranteed to do it next season.

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  23. No link from last thread… been on there for a while wondering why no more comments. ?

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  24. Stuart79:
    Ashley will sell if he gets the right offer. The club is worth a lot of money now with the TV deals in the PL. His other more valuable assets need more of his resources and his time and he doesn’t need the hassle of owning NUFC. He knows his way of owning a football club isn’t working and costs him more and more money with relegation.

    He’s off when someone offers him £350m

    Do you know how much$ Ashley spent approximately to buy the club?

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  25. icedog: i tend to agree mate,jabba has not even spoke to Rafa hasnt even said well done to him for getting the clubb up,what kind of man is he??,how can you work for a man that doesnt even speak to you,if i was Rafa i would be off

    According to today’s press conference, Ashley has already called Rafa, talked to him and congratulated him on the promotion and a job well done.

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  26. funrafa: Do you know how much$ Ashley spent approximately to buy the club?

    “Newcastle attracted me because everyone in England knows that it has the best fans in football… don’t get me wrong. I did not buy Newcastle to make money. I bought Newcastle because I love football .

    At the time the club was riddled with debt and financial management was poor, to say the least. Ashley added “I paid £134 million out of my own pocket for the club. I then poured another £110 million into the club not to pay off the debt but just to reduce it. The club is still in debt. Even worse than that, the club still owes millions of pounds in transfer fees”

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  27. I always thought the debt was more to do with the staduim Kimtoon. It must have cost million’s to construct a 52,000 seater staduim. Although transfer fee’s especially Owen probably effected the debt.

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  28. Rafa said the raid was connected with transfers 4 or 5 years ago. He’s unconcerned and it’s football as normal.
    Marveaux, Demba Ba and one other apparently are under investigation. That’s likely to last months. The same thing happened to us in 2007 and the outcome was zilch.
    Rafa meets Ashley next week.

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  29. Stem:
    I always thought the debt was more to do with the staduim Kimtoon.It must have cost million’s to construct a 52,000 seater staduim.Although transfer fee’s especially Owen probably effected the debt.

    Stem: I think Fatty (2) could get his money back now because of all the TV money. He said he hadn’t read the books when he bought NUFC. I would have thought that was a nonsensical statement, but then I realized he hired Joe Kinnear twice.

    It is quite funny that we have a barrow boy sweat shop owner being swindled by a scrap metal dealer 🙂 Who would have ever thought that a scrap metal dealer could be involved in shady business 🙂

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  30. NUFCThreatLevel Retweeted

    George Caulkin‏Verified account @CaulkinTheTimes · 32m

     More

    A minor exclusive: Matt Ritchie is actually suspended for last 2 #Nufc games this season after abusing 4th official after defeat at Ipswich.

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  31. kimtoon:
    NUFCThreatLevel Retweeted

    George Caulkin‏Verified account @CaulkinTheTimes · 32m

     More

    A minor exclusive: Matt Ritchie is actually suspended for last 2 #Nufc games this season after abusing 4th official after defeat at Ipswich.

    “abusing the 4th official”. Surely not.

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  32. Kimtoon: It seems like the job of the 4th official is to look at their watch or stare into the distance when a manager asks them a question.

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  33. Dubai Toon:
    No link from last thread… been on there for a while wondering why no more comments.

    I hate that mate it really gets my goat,one of the reason others and myself stopped coming on the site

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  34. some paper are mentioning we’ve agreed a deal for Atsu.. hope not I would like to spend some good money on a decent left winger. Arnautovic, Mirallas or Sigursson 😀 would do for me.

    Cant see Rafa settling for 2nd best and cheap signings

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  35. Eric Sykes:
    Kimtoon: It seems like the job of the 4th official is to look at their watch or stare into the distance when a manager asks them a question.

    quite mate, it sure looks like that

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  36. Cant see Atsu coming. The reports say we have agreed personal terms but have yet to move to make it permanent. That”s not news. The personal terms is not a new development..that was agreed when he signed.

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  37. kimtoon:
    Not over impressed with Atsu if I’m honest.

    same goes. 13 starts and 17 from the bench..in the championship… doesnt look good tbh

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  38. kimtoon: “Newcastle attracted me because everyone in England knows that it has the best fans in football… don’t get me wrong. I did not buy Newcastle to make money. I bought Newcastle because I love football .

    At the time the club was riddled with debt and financial management was poor, to say the least. Ashley added “I paid £134 million out of my own pocket for the club. I then poured another £110 million into the club not to pay off the debt but just to reduce it. The club is still in debt. Even worse than that, the club still owes millions of pounds in transfer fees”

    Thanks Kim. Can’t believe “not for making money, love football” comments were from Ashley’s mouth. What he said and what he’s done is completely opposite.

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  39. funrafa: Thanks Kim. Can’t believe “not for making money, love football” comments were from Ashley’s mouth. What he said and what he’s done is completely opposite.

    Exactly mate, a more duplicitous character you will not meet.

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