It’s been a brilliant start to the season at St. James Park; which is makes a change from what we’re are used to!
11 games in, here’s 11 positives or reasons to get excited for us Newcastle United fans:
1 – 18 points already
We stand on 18 points which has been one of best start to the season in 10 years. Considering we had no wins when Eddie Howe took over last season, the turnaround has been pretty remarkable. It makes a welcome to change to be looking up the Premier League table rather than down. Although just for the record, we are NINE points above the relegation zone.
2 – Team performances without two key attackers
It has been brilliant to see us picking up so many point this season without our first choice attacking players. We are still without Allan Saint-Maximin and Alexander Isak, however we are still demonstrating good attacking threat and more importantly, consistently picking up points. It’s frightening to think what our side could look like when those two are fit.
3 – Miguel Almiron outscoring Salah, Son and Ronaldo
This season ‘Miggy’ has been another one of Eddie Howe’s magical transformations. Last season it was Joelinton, this season it’s Miggy. Already with five non penalty goals and an assist, this season is promising to be his most profitable in terms of direct goal involvement. The Paraguayan looks so confident in front of goal, attempting more shots and through balls than previous seasons. Is his best still yet to come?
4 – The Future
The future of the club looks in fantastic hands in regards to young players coming through. With players such as Elliot Anderson and Aussie, Garang Kuol to name a few. It’s apparent that the new recruitment team at NUFC want to improve their prospects for the future, as well as the present. This is a refreshing change for us fans who historically have endured our best youth players joining other football clubs in an effort to further their career prospects.
5 – Controlling Games
It’s fair to say that this season, Newcastle look so much more comfortable during matches. Our possessional play has improved dramatically which has led us to maintain control of matches, restrict opposition chances and break teams down. In the past, our sides have been guilty of letting games slip buy passively. Ultimately, the improvement has been down to the recruitment of Bruno G as well as some modern coaching. Howe has established a clear identity of the way he wants the side to play and it’s clear the players are buying into that.
6 – ‘Hadrians Wall’
Another astonishing statistic is that the NUFC defence is now factually the best in the division. Our rock solid back five has conceded the least amount of goals this season, a vast improvement on last year when we used to concede stupid goals. At present, it feels we have five leaders at the back – an imperative attribute for players organising the shape of our side. Against Everton, they managed one shot the entire game, a testament to the job the defence are doing under the new regime.
7 – Nick Pope; bargain of the summer?
When we signed Nick Pope for a reported £10m back in June, a few sections of our fanbase questioned the transfer. Perhaps due to his poor distribution record? It’s fair to say that the England stopper has been a considerable upgrade on Martin Dubravka. Who, may I add can’t even get a substitute appearance on the Manchester United bench. Pope has been excellent since coming in, never letting us down when called upon,
8 – Bruno Guimaraes
I really hope we can keep a hold of our Brazilian superstar. Bruno has completely transformed the identity of our tactics and performances. His drive, skill, endeavour and relationship with the fans has resulted in NUFC inheriting a truly mesmeric footballer. The guy is really something special, so much so I suspect an eventual transfer may be in the realms of £100m + if we were to let him go (not that I’d want that to happen). Bruno must be kept at all costs and I’m adamant the club will do everything in their power to do just that.
9 – Our ‘on field’ captain, Kieran Trippier
Due to the tail off in form of our club captain, Jamaal Lascelles; our new recruit Kieran Trippier has taken up the mantle of First Team Captain. It must be said he has performed this fantastically. His leadership qualities are apparent throughout every match we play, Trippier constantly communicates clearly with other players on the pitch, coaching them and guiding them throughout the match. What a signing the ex Atletico Madrid man has been. He is the complete modern fullback and optimises everything that Newcastle United stands for in his consistently brilliant performances.
10 – Another quality signing on the horizon?
The rumours of James Maddison are not going away. With Leicester struggling for consistent form and Brendan Rodgers under considerable pressure fighting for his job, could The Magpies sneak in and prize ‘Madders’ away from the King Power? Leicester’s financial issues are quite well documented at present, coupled with the fact Maddison is in the last two years of his deal and is yet to sign a new one, it is obvious that he will be Newcastle’s #1 target going into the January window. Watch this space.
11 – NUFC Women
Another brilliant revolution that the new regime have brought to the club is the inclusion of the Women’s team. The Women’s team has now been absorbed into the parent group of NUFC, consequently now falling under the same ownership model. This can only be good news and I suspect we will see a similar volume of investment in the Women’s team in the coming years. With another game at St. James Park on the horizon, it’s very exciting to see where our Women’s team can go. WSL here we come!
