When we talk about the off-season, the obvious thing everyone is talking about is the potential takeover. However, it remains to be seen whether that will materialise, so let’s forget about takeovers for a second and take a look at some reasons to be optimistic for next season.
The performance in the 5-0 loss to Man City might have been a bit of a dampener, but asides from that, things are looking very rosy for Newcastle United.
A Good Showing Since the Break
Since returning, the Magpies have played some great football and picked up a good number of points. Before the City game, Newcastle had picked up 8 points in 4 league games, which is not to be sniffed at.
In general, this hasn’t been against the strongest opposition, but you can only beat what’s in front of you, and we did that well, particularly in the 3-0 win against Sheffield United (7th in the table) and the 4-1 win against Bournemouth.
5 Points Better Off Than Last Season
After 34 games last season, Newcastle had 38 points. This year that tally is 43 points. It might only be 5 points, but it can make a huge difference – just ask a club like Aston Villa if they would like to be 5 points better off.
If you’d asked many fans before the season whether they would take 43 points after 34 games and guaranteed safety, many would gladly have taken it.
If we can finish 8 points ahead of where we finished last year that puts us on 53 points. Show the same improvement next year, and that’s 61 points – good enough for a Europa League spot last season.
We’re Scoring Goals
They say that scoring goals is one of the hardest things to do in the Premier League but, Newcastle have been banging them in. Scoring goals breeds confidence, and if we can keep it up over next season, then we’re going to put ourselves in a good position.
While you’re spending the very short offseason learning how to bet on esports or taking the time to improve your own football skills when the Magpies aren’t playing, hopefully, the squad will be keeping up the hard work they’ve been putting into becoming a more free-scoring team.
We’ve Done It Without Goals from Our Striker
Newcastle invested heavily in Joelinton last summer, and certainly, in terms of goals, it hasn’t paid off. So, our good form has been built without a big contribution from our main striker, which means there’s plenty of room for improvement.
If the team can get Joelinton confident and playing his best football, and we have a striker who’s banging the goals in, then the chances of seeing huge improvements is high. Whether Joelinton comes good in his second season, or we go into the transfer market, we’ve got the potential to grab a lot more goals from the CF position.