When Eddie Howe took charge of Newcastle United in November of 2021, we were languishing in 19th place with just five points from 11 games. We ended up finishing in 11th with a total of 49 points, leaving us just three points behind Leicester City in eighth. This was a brilliant managerial performance from Howe, helped by the fact that he had plenty of money to spend in the January transfer window. We have not finished higher than 10th in the league since we finished 5th in the 2011/12 season, and it will be very fascinating to see what happens this current campaign. Here we are going to look at our strengths and weaknesses and where we think we will finish.
Newcastle United Fixtures
We opened up our 2022/23 Premier League campaign with a simple 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest, which could have always been a bit of a banana skin due to the fact that it was their first time back in the Premier League for more than two decades. We then went to Brighton and Hove Albion and picked up a solid away point thanks to a fine performance from our new number one, Nick Pope. Four points from our first two games is a decent start if you ask us.
Our first month of the new season will be made up of matches against Manchester City, Liverpool, and Wolverhampton Wanderers, so there is a chance that points might be a bit lean over the next few weeks. Although if we play to our potential, there is no reason why we cannot give Liverpool or Manchester City a good game.
The 2022/23 season is different to other Premier League seasons due to the fact that there is a break in November and December for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which many people will be doing a bit of football betting on no doubt. The UK football betting sites that you use to place bets on our beloved Newcastle United will definitely have plenty for you to bet on when it comes to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Before the break for this huge competition, we take on Chelsea, while we are back in action on Boxing Day against Leicester City.
We have a pretty tough end to the season as we take on Arsenal, Leeds, Leicester, and Chelsea, and all of these teams might have something to play for still. The Stamford Bridge trip on the 28th of May could have a lot riding on it since we will hope to be contention for Europe, whether the Europa League of the Europa Conference League, while Chelsea might still need points to claim a top four spot.
The Summer Business
Due to Newcastle’s extreme wealth, us fans got to sit back and enjoy ridiculous potential future Newcastle XIs that included the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi. In fact, name a top player and he was probably linked to Newcastle at some point. However, us realistic Geordies knew that we would not be getting a whole host of summer signings due to the Financial Fair Play regulations, although we probably did expect a few more signings to come through the door than what we saw.
Sven Botman and Nick Pope are two great additions to the squad, while Matt Targett’s loan was made permanent from Aston Villa. Despite these three additions, there are a number of Newcastle United supporters on social media platforms that are getting a bit impatient. However, we need to remember that we spent quite a bit of money in January, and now the whole world and his dog knows how much money we have, they are all setting their prices accordingly.
Howe’s message is a good on and it is that the current crop of players performed so well in the second half of the 2021/2022 season that they deserve a chance to prove that it was not a one off.
Our Strengths
The atmosphere around St. James’ Park on matchday is now completely different since Mike Ashley sold up, and the joy from this is now being transferred from the fans on the terraces to the players on the pitch. There is no doubt that the toxic atmosphere when Ashley was in charge was having a negative impact on the players.
One of our strong points is our defence which, between Christmas Day and the beginning of May, conceded more than once in a match on just the solitary occasions. With the additions of Botman and Pope, our defence this season should be even better. When it comes to creativity, there is one man that stands out and that is Allan Saint-Maximin, who is one of the most entertaining players that we have seen on Tyneside for some time. We also cannot forget about Bruno Guimaraes, who has already become a huge fan favourite, while the likes of Joe Willock, Jonjo Shelvey, and Joelinton add some grit and determination.
Then, in the form of Callum Wilson, we have a striker that will bag us 15-20 goals if he manages to stay fit. Wilson will be doing his best to play at the top of his game since he has aspirations of being picked for the 26-man England squad that will go to Qatar to try and bring football home. According to some of the top betting sites, England are the third favourites to win the 2022 World Cup.
Our Weaknesses
It could be a bit of a tall order to keep up our form from the second half of the 2021/22 season, and anything less than his form might be interpreted by some fans as the team underperforming. We think that we lack a bit of pace in the midfield, especially with the likes of Shelvey and Joelinton who could find themselves exposed against counter-attacking teams.
We might end up relying on Saint-Maximin too much when it comes to creativity as he was our highest chance creator last season. Our second highest chance creator was Joelinton, and he did not even make it into the top 80 of the EPL. If, and that is a big if, we were to buy one more player in the summer transfer window, it would have to be a wide forward. We have been linked with James Maddison, and that would be a top signing if we managed to bring him in.
Then the final worry of ours is Wilson’s fitness. We all know that he is a quality striker when he is fully fit, but in his last two seasons at Newcastle, he has only managed to make 39 starts. Also, in the last seven seasons, he has only managed to play more than 30 games in a season on one occasion. We do have Chris Wood too, but we really do not think that he is good enough for a club that has top eight aspirations.
Our 2022/23 Premier League Prediction
It really is difficult to ignore our form from the second part of last season, and with the structure that Howe has now put in place, we do not think that a top seven finish is beyond us. We have a strong defence and one of the best keepers in England, while more than enough attacking talent to score the goals that we need. Come the end of the season, it would be a bit of a disappointment if we were not battling the likes of Leicester, Villa and Wolves for a European spot.
Our 2022/23 Premier League prediction: 7th or 8th