It was three years ago, at Arsenal, that Newcastle’s s***-housery became a point of Geordie pride and national envy. They belligerently held the league leaders to a goalless draw to maintain their own position in third, a coming-of-age night to announce residency among the country’s best, and smartest, teams.
Eddie Howe’s side went toe-to-toe with the Gunners and he, in a rare but necessary show of touchline aggression, went nose-to-nose with Mikel Arteta. Jason Tindall disrupted home throw-ins and captain Jamaal Lascelles was booked as he warmed up.
‘We’re not here to be popular, we’re here to compete,’ said Howe, a line soon stitched into both a flag and folklore.
How, then, do they arrive here, as makeweights in a title-race contest back at the Emirates? A win, for Arsenal, puts them top. For Newcastle, an unlikely victory might see them jump from 14th to 12th. They are, for Arteta, most welcome opponents.
Approaching five years of Saudi-led ownership, and with a key PIF summit taking place in Northumberland next week, the club, its manager and players are at a crossroads. Right now, the only certainty on Tyneside is uncertainty.
A lot of that, at least its entering into the public domain, stems from a media briefing involving chief executive David Hopkinson earlier this month. Then, he revealed star players would have to be sold to fund summer business, because of financial rules. There was also doubt as to the future of Howe, and that remains so. The desire from all sides is to carry on, but there are conversations to be had before that becomes the reality.
Arsenal and Newcastle players fail to see eye-to-eye at the Emirates during a fiesty encounter back in 2023
Right now, the only certainty at Newcastle is uncertainty – and that surrounds manager Eddie Howe’s future too
From all of this has come two defeats, during which some players have, it appears, checked out on the season or, worse still, the club. When Newcastle were beaten by Barcelona in the Champions League last 16 in March, losing a cause that was driving the dressing room, and then lost to Sunderland before the fire-sale headlines of the international break, it had the impact of a campaign flatlining.
Only the return from injury of the team’s pulse, captain Bruno Guimaraes, can resurrect something from a season that, for Newcastle, feels like it has five games too many remaining. In truth, they just need this to be done before they can begin again.
And that is the bigger question facing Howe, Hopkinson, sporting director Ross Wilson and the Saudi chiefs who will land on Tyneside on Thursday – the short term is what it is, but how does the long term look?
The stated ambition of Hopkinson – and his dynamism will be key in achieving this – is to be No 1 in the world by 2030. It feels, however, as if they were closer to that summit in 2023 than they are now. Back then, the rocket ship had thrust and a sense of adventure. Now, it feels brutally exposed.
Premier League and UEFA financial restrictions are a limiting factor, of course, but zero progress with infrastructural projects – and continued use of a training ground that ranks among the least attractive in the top flight – has slowed the ascent. Players talk, as do their agents and families, and the buzz around Newcastle has turned to caution.
The optics need to change. They can do that by announcing a new £200million training base, declaring their intent to build a new stadium and breaking new ground with sponsorship deals – tell the world that the rocket ship is being refuelled!
The mistakes and missed opportunities of recent years are too many to pore over – from getting rid of Amanda Staveley to hiring Paul Mitchell to the loss of Alexander Isak to the best part of £250m mis-spent last summer – and when I asked Howe to retrace the journey from that night at the Emirates to now, he smiled and said: ‘That is a deep one to answer.’
The aggression in that 2023 showdown even spilled over onto the touchline as Howe and Mikel Arteta clashed over various refereeing decisions
How do Newcastle show ambition when the likes of Sandro Tonali (right) and Anthony Gordon (centre) are likely to be sold in the summer?
Arsenal will be hoping for another three points after beating Newcastle in dramatic fashion earlier in the season at St James’ Park
Instead, he spoke about good players losing confidence and the often-underestimated damage that can inflict on any period in a season, such as now. Confidence, though, is what has been lost way beyond the dressing room, an erosion of belief in what Newcastle are and where they are headed. It is on the Saudi owners and leadership team to use actions, not words, to signal renewed ambition and direction.
How, though, do they achieve that from what feels like a position of weakness, when the likes of Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon are likely to be sold and with so much still unknown on and off the pitch? Rivals are looking towards Newcastle with a sense of opportunity, be that in pilfering points or players.
That is why this is a fork-in-the-road summer. For to rediscover the competitive spirit of that winter’s night at the Emirates, when the team and the club were defined and driven by identity and vision, Newcastle need to do far more than disrupt a few throw-ins. They need to regroup, as a collective, and figure out how they disrupt the cabal of elite clubs which, not so long ago, we thought they were ready to join.
Because right now, to revisit Howe’s words from January 2023, they are too popular – and not for the reasons they would like.
