1080 minutes. With 12 games remaining this season, there are 1080 regulation minutes left to play for Newcastle United, a Club which for the first time in two decades, has dreams of Champions League Football. A fourth-place league finish will, barring disaster, place us in the group stages of next season’s competition.
We head into the final third of our campaign in fifth place on the table, two points adrift of Spurs with two games in hand over the London outfit. Looming fixtures against Manchester United, Spurs, Arsenal, Brighton, Brentford, and Chelsea, suggest that our Champions League fate is very much still in our own hands.
With the international break coming to an end and some of our stars in action for their nations, it is time for the Geordies to pause and reflect on the progress made under the stewardship of Eddie Howe. We ponder this with the teasing prospect of strapping up in Europe’s premier club tournament in mind.
With it all still to play for, the Toon Army is salivating at the thought of singing the Champions League Anthem once again next season.
Here are 5 things that must go our way to make that happen:
1. Isak and Bruno must remain fit and available
We have fiercely contested with the Premier League’s heavyweights this season, surpassing the expectations of onlookers around the world. Tyneside sits back in anticipation, observing our team’s resurgence. Setting the positives aside momentarily, we can’t help but begrudge that there is still a nagging shortfall in the squad when weighed up against other teams vying for the fourth spot – depth.
Eddie Howe has made strides in bolstering squad depth since taking charge 16 months ago, but fans yearn to see world-class players competing in key positions. The team’s development since Howe took the reins is very much still a work in progress, with the gaffer still in the throes of supplementing his team with new talent.
The ongoing efforts to breed depth in the Newcastle ranks means that the absence of new signings is felt enormously. There are two new signings in particular that we hope to see on the pitch as often as possible in the remaining 12 games:
Alexander Isak
The Toon’s most expensive all-time signing has impressed fans since his £63 acquisition from Real Sociedad in August last year.
It has, however, been an injury-marred start for the young Swede, who is still yet to play more than three consecutive games in the league. Isak has taken to the field only 10 times this season, with three appearances off the bench, netting six times for his efforts.
The Swedish technician’s pace, creativity and attacking ability has been welcomed by Newcastle fans, who have been left understandably frustrated that fitness has been an issue for the March Player of the Month Nominee. On the scoresheet three times in Newcastle’s back-to-back victories against Wolves and Nottingham Forest, we will be praying that he continues his form and manages to get continuous time on the pitch, unhindered by injuries.
Isak has been on international duty for Sweden, who began their EURO 2024 qualifying campaign last week. Eddie Howe will be relieved and encouraged that his striker travels back to Tyneside with no injury problems.
Bruno Guimarães
The midfielder was not included in the Brazilian squad that lost to Morocco in an International Friendly on Sunday and appears to have taken full advantage of the international break, leaving the UK to relax on the sun-soaked shores of the Maldives with his fiancée, Ana Lidia Martins.
The Brazilian talisman has played a critical role in our Champions League charge so far this season. Commanding in the midfield, the ex-Lyon enforcer’s contribution has been immense all over the pitch, playing important defensive and distributive roles.
Named in the starting line-up 20 times this season, our struggles in Bruno’s absence are cause for major concern. The Toon has failed to register a win in the six games in which Bruno has not featured, managing only four points from the 18 available (with four draws and two losses).
Given the glaring hole in the midfield Bruno leaves behind when he doesn’t play, let’s hope that he remains injury and suspension free going into the final stretch of the season.
2. Gordon to shine in Almiron’s absence
‘Miggy’ has provided much of our attacking menace this season. The Athletic reports that the Club’s top scorer (11) recently sustained a training injury which will leave him sidelined for six weeks.
The three-time Paraguayan Footballer of the Year has had a breakthrough season in the Premier League, catching the media’s attention when he racked up eight goals and an assist in nine consecutive games last year. This stretch of goal-scoring form saw us win all but one game, the stalemate 0-0 draw against the Red Devils at Old Trafford.
After a slump in form which saw the winger go five games without scoring or registering an assist, Almiron showed signs of returning to scoring ways when he got on the scoresheet to help salvage a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth, followed by a heroic effort in scoring the match winner against Wolves a month later. But now, with estimates placing Almiron’s return to fitness at the end of April, he will likely miss out on at least the next six fixtures, including Man Utd (2 April), Brentford (8 April), and Tottenham (23 April).
We will be holding thumbs that Almiron is eligible for selection in the final portion of the season. The more optimistic among us will be expecting that upon his return to fitness, he rediscovers the form which characterized his pre-World Cup hot streak.
We host Arsenal on 6 May and play Chelsea at the Bridge on the final day of the season. Almiron’s availability for those fixtures would significantly bolster the team’s spirits.
The Paraguayan’s injury-induced sabbatical, however, provides an opportunity for new £45m signing, Anthony Gordon. According to The Telegraph, the 22-year-old, who is yet to win a game in a Newcastle shirt, has recovered from an ankle injury and is fit to feature against Manchester United on Sunday.
Since joining from Everton in January, Gordon has started only once in four appearances for the Magpies. The young winger will be looking to capitalise on the opportunity to establish himself as a regular starter in Eddie Howe’s line-up.
3. An end to the defensive woes
Despite current concerns surrounding the fitness of Fabian Schär, Nick Pope and Sven Botman, our defensive unit has been solid and largely unaffected by continuity or fitness issues this season. Nick Pope, Dan Burn and Kieran Tripper have played all 26 games, while Botman and Schär have each missed only two.
The Toon have thus far conceded the lowest number of goals (19) this season, ahead of Manchester City (25) and Arsenal (26). With defensive resilience underscoring much of our bid for Champions League football, the Geordie faithful will be concerned that Pope, who is level with Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale on 12 clean sheets for the season, has conceded in all the Club’s last six league matches.
Recent mistakes at the back from Pope, Trippier and Botman, tell the worrisome tale that our defence is leaking goals at crucial times.
If we are to keep our hopes of Champions League qualification alive, Eddie Howe will need to resurrect his defensive unit and eliminate the uncharacteristic errors which have emerged. The Toon must rediscover the composure that characterized their defence in the first half of the season.
4. Man United and Chelsea can’t both win in Europe
There are several headache-causing permutations involved in unpacking what would be good enough to secure Champions League football next season. We should be concerned only with one – if Chelsea win the Champions League, Man United win the Europa League, and both teams finish outside of the top four, fourth place will not be enough for us to secure qualification. In such a case only third place would secure Champions League accolades.
We shouldn’t lose sleep over this unlikely outcome. Manchester United are in form in the league and are sitting in third comfortably, while Chelsea are overwhelming underdogs in the Champions League against Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid, having been knocked out of the tournament by Los Blancos in the quarterfinals of the 2021/22 season.
Due to a rule change by UEFA in 2018, it is also possible that five English Teams qualify to compete in the Champions League next season. For this to happen, either Man United or Chelsea must win their respective competitions, while failing to finish in the top four. In this case, the top four placed teams would qualify, with Man United or Chelsea securing qualification also. Tottenham would have benefited from the current rules were they in place in 2012, when Harry Redknapp’s team finished in fourth place but failed to qualify for the Champions League, owing to sixth-placed Chelsea becoming unexpected champions of the tournament that season.
5. Tottenham can’t pick up momentum
With Liverpool and Brighton also breathing down our necks, fourth-placed Spurs remain the most obvious threat for the time being.
It remains to be seen whether the recent exit of Antonio Conte disrupts the squad’s performance. With the London-based team currently posing the biggest threat out of the chasing pack, the Geordies will be hoping Conte’s sacking does not spark a rejuvenation among the players.
It has been an inconsistent affair for the Lilywhites this season. Unbeaten in their opening seven games, they have failed to register more than two wins on the trot throughout the entire campaign. Knocked out of the Champions League by AC Milan earlier this month, Spurs will approach the final part of the season laser-focused on finishing in qualification territory.
Inconsistent as they have been, Spurs have had little issues in front of goal, behind only Arsenal and Man City in goals scored. Harry Kane has enjoyed a rare injury-free season, starting all 28 games. The big striker has netted 21 goals and bagged three assists this season, scoring three times in his last two appearances.
The Geordie faithful will be relieved that Spurs are also currently struggling with injuries that will likely affect their selection for the clash against Newcastle on April 23rd.
Void of a manager and injury-ridden, we will have their fingers crossed in hopes that Spurs struggle to get over the line in the final third of the season.
Conclusion
The Toon have been the surprise package of the league this season, leaving the Geordies yearning for more.
We have transformed from the hopeless to the hopeful, from the cynics to the dreamers. Newcastle is poised to start its resurrection in Europe faster than we think. The question is, do we have enough to do it in the next 1080 minutes?
