Can Newcastle rise above the mediocrity?

Newcastle’s best hope of silverware may come in a return to Wembley but on Cup business this year

Can Newcastle rise above the mediocrity?

by Sean Maslin

Last Season:
EPL: 10th
FA Cup: 4th Round (eliminated by Chelsea)
League Cup: 2nd Round  (eliminated by Nottingham Forest)

The English Premier League is usually marked by clubs from three different levels: Those at the top who will contend for top honors every year, those at the bottom who will fight to avoid relegation every year, and those in the middle that for the most part sit between seven and eleven. Those at the top and the bottom will generally get the buzz and attention because silverware is cool and promotion/relegation is fun if one doesn’t have a dog in the fight.

This preview will be about neither of those two types of sides. This preview is about the middle. This preview is about Newcastle United FC.

There are usually three indicators for what makes a side ‘middle’ tier team.

• They have to have an owner that will spend but only when their bottom pound is impacted,
• they have to have a history of placing a premium on staying in the Premier League even during the late stages of Cup play,
• and when they are relegated they usually run the tables in the lower division.

Newcastle United checks all of these boxes. When you talk about Newcastle it is almost impossible to not mention their owner Mike Ashley.

Since taking over stewardship of the Magpies, Ashley has been portrayed both as absent and overbearing. There isn’t enough time nor space to go over his many poor decisions so we will just leave it to a member of Parliament from his club’s own district to outline them.

To put this in proper perspective as to how much Newcastle supporters hate Ashley think about this: World Wrestling Entertainment owner Vince McMahon was once rumored to be interested in purchasing the club and that was perceived as an upgrade.

They are and have been in a very interesting spot over the past 20 or so years in that they are too big to fail but too small to succeed.

Anytime the club has found themselves relegated during the Ashley era they always bounced back up the next season. Their Football League Championships in 2009-2010 and 2016-2017 are so cherished by this club and their supporters because:

a) They are their only two titles since 1992-1993 and

b) There is a genuine fear that despite the size of their club they may not see another Premier League title.

They haven’t won a Premier League or First Division title since 1926-1927 and their last FA Cup win was 1955.

Despite these factors that might normally provide some doom and gloom at St. James’ Park, there is a certain level of optimism with this side. First, manager Rafa Benitez is back. Benitez has somehow managed to avoid the Ashley axe despite having some very public spats with his boss. While there is always the spectre of Benitez quitting over the lack of money spent on the roster or on the need for a new training grounds, the both of them seem to enjoy the adversarial relationship. If Benitez can continue to deliver manageable results and Ashley keeps employing the ‘carrot and stick’ approach on other matters then they may just see this season out.

Second, the moves that Newcastle has made have all been upgrades. It should be noted that almost all Premier League managers complain about a lack of spending (a philosophy yours truly likes to call ‘The Mourinho Manifesto’) and that Benitez has a history of doing it across multiple clubs. But if one looks at the signings that the club has made there are sharp improvements. In particular in the attack where they have picked up forwards Salomon Rondon on loan from West Bromwich Albion (7 goals in 37 appearances last season for the Baggies) and Yoshinori Muto from Mainz 05 (8 goals in 27 appearances).

“They are and have been in a very interesting spot over the past 20 or so years in that they are too big to fail but too small to succeed.”

Newcastle struggled to score last season, netting just 39 goals during their 2017-2018 campaign. Muto’s speed on the outside helped create space for his teammates and in turn helped keep them in the Bundesliga. Benitez generally likes to switch between a 4-4-2 and a 4-5-1 depending upon his opponent. If he is in the eleven Muto should be able to create similar space for Rondon, who was often taking on 2-3 defenders at a time for the Baggies last season. At 28, the Venezuelan international should be at his peak entering this season. Benitez is unafraid to give players chances that he believes in so it will be interesting to see how much confidence he has in him.

On the defense not too much has changed which makes sense considering the form they had to end the season. After picking up goalkeeper Martin Dubravka on loan from Sparta Prague Newcastle went on a streak in which they were 6W-3D=5L on 21 points and had a Goal Differential of plus 3. Since the club let Tim Krul go their defense has been a bit disorganized in part due to the rotating cast behind the posts. With Dubravka having made the full transfer, Benitez and The Toon Army will hope that situation is resolved.

Along the back four the main cast from last year is back with a fully healthy Paul Dummett likely to join Jamaal Lascelles, DeAndre Yedlin, and Javier Manquillo. They did bring in some depth with Fabian Schar from Deportivo La Coruna. This might be an area that Newcastle continues to explore in the lead up to the closure of the transfer window. It isn’t exactly an area where they would need to break the bank (which will make Ashley happy) and where they can use their scouting and resources to find someone who can add depth (which will make Benitez happy).

On paper, Newcastle should be able to replicate their top ten finish from last season. They have made enough additions to the attack that their defense should get some respite this season and their midfield remains largely unchanged with Ki Seung-Yueng (Swansea City) the lone addition thus far.

But much of Newcastle’s identity is tied to factors that are outside of the player’s control and thus what occurs on the pitch. This is a club that, as it stands with the current manager in tow, should believe that they can finish above the number ten spot and with a little luck FA Cup and Carabao Cup honors.

Yet every Newcastle supporters know that the Magpies success will depend as much upon the Ashley-Benitez relationship as it will the players on the pitch. Thus far the two parties have been able to work through their differences. Whether they can do it for another season will be perhaps be Newcastle’s biggest test.

Players IN:

MID Yushinori Muto (Mainz 05), FWD Salomon Rondon (Loan-West Bromwich Albion), GK Martin Dubravka (Sparta Prague), MID Ki Sung yueng (Swansea City),  DEF Fabian Schar (Atletico Madrid)

Players OUT:

FWD Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham), CM Mikel Mireno (Real Sociedad), DEF Chancel Mbemba (Porto), MID Jack Colback (Loan-Nottingham Forest), FWD Dwight Gayle (Loan-West Browmwich Albion, GK Matz Sels (Strasbourg), FWD Adam Armstrong (Blackburn), DEF Jesus Gamez (Unattached), DEF Curtis Good (Unattached), DEF Massadio Haïdara (Lens), DEF Stuart Findlay (Kilmarnock), FWD Callum Smith (Hull City), DEF Macaulay Gillesphey (Carlisle), FWD Alex Gilliead (Shrewsbury)

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