Easy to forget – This is Newcastle United | OneFootball

Just 40 days now until Newcastle United is back in action.

Competitive football returning to St James’ Park.

The Euros and Copa America have been a helpful distraction, up to a point.

However, for most of us, it is really just about Newcastle United.

To kick off the Premier League season, a 3 pm on a Saturday afternoon at St James’ Park, we didn’t see a lot of those last season.

Eleven months ago, Newcastle United kicked off the 2023/24 season, also at St James’ Park.

That was also a Saturday but a moved to 5.30 pm kick-off for the benefit of live TV.

One of many memorable performances and results last season (funny how many of them there were when you go through them…) for Newcastle United.

United taking a sixth-minute lead and smashing Aston Villa 5-1.

Goals from Tonali, Isak(2), Wilson, and Barnes, with Diaby getting the consolation.

Newcastle United with an impressive 13 shots on target in an excellent performance, as they swept aside one of the sides fancied to be towards the top end.

A crowd of 52,207 were inside St James’ Park to watch the following do the damage – Pope, Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn, Bruno (Longstaff 85), Joelinton, Tonali (Anderson 90+2), Gordon (Barnes 68), Almiron (Murphy 86), Isak (Wilson 68)

Moving forward to the present day, I think there has been far too much focus on who Newcastle United ‘needs’ to sign.

For me, it was all about keeping this group of players together and letting them have a proper go this 2024/25 season, to show what could/would have been possible last season, if not for the worst injury-hit campaign in Newcastle United’s entire history, plus of course the cherry on the top, Sandro Tonali’s suspension.

What could/would have that starting eleven against Villa achieved last season, if having the usual luck with injuries (and suspensions…?).

It was also of course the case of the ridiculous number of missing players, taking away Eddie Howe’s ability to change things from the bench or rotate from game to game.

That is modern football these days and of course why the most powerful demanded the ridiculous increase to five subs allowed and nine in total on the bench, so they had yet another advantage over the rest with their far stronger squads in terms of depth, than most. Bringing on three or four subs in midfield and attack with 25 minutes or so to go, to finish off an already battered opposition with new fresh quality players introduced, we are now just used to it with Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool and so on.

Newcastle United due to Eddie Howe’s brilliant work with existing players and inspired signings, had seen NUFC remarkably close that gap significantly. Both in terms of a quality starting eleven AND suddenly real strength in depth on the bench.

That of course all swept away when for months the team picked itself last season and limited/zero realistic options on the bench, as Eddie Howe so often had a full team of players in the treatment room.

Looking at those sixteen Newcastle United players who demolished Aston Villa 11 months ago, as things stand, all are set to be available for the Southampton match on Saturday 17 August, apart from the recovering Sven Botman, the sold Elliot Anderson, plus Sandro Tonali who won’t be available until the fourth Premier League game of the season.

Yes, in an ideal world, Newcastle United would have kept the potential of Anderson and Minteh, but the reality is that neither would have been close to the first-choice starting eleven this coming season.

Botman is of course a big miss but an operation became inevitable if he was to get back to the real heights of early last season and the full one beforehand. Hopefully, he will come back ASAP and most importantly, back to his best.

On the plus side though, Eddie Howe now has at his disposal two outstanding prospects at full-back in Livramento and Hall, who will have massively benefited from the bedding in of their first season. Whilst Eddie Howe paid £13m for a second tier 20-year-old Lloyd Kelly when at Bournemouth, so to now pick up a Premier League-hardened 25-year-old Lloyd Kelly must be seen as a massive boost for the left side of the defence.

Pope and Joelinton returned at the end of last season and will be raring to go for this new campaign, same with Tonali after the opening three games, whilst Joe Willock (who wasn’t available for that 5-1 over Villa, nor indeed most of the matches last season) will also hopefully be the same, having been given the time to put himself right by Eddie Howe late last season and into the summer.

Ahead of that Aston Villa match 11 months ago, fair to say that not many of us had great expectations of Anthony Gordon, even less of a 17-year-old Lewis Miley heading into that season.

This is a seriously good Newcastle United first team and one with quality backup from the bench if we have fair luck this time.

I fully expect more signings to be made as well and in particular, a new real quality option on the right wing, probably a versatile attacker who can play a number of roles, as we have with the likes of Isak and Gordon.

Fair to say that it is very easy to take for granted what you have already got and easy for some to in their own heads believe last season’s missing list wasn’t as serious as the reality most of us accept.

I think this Southampton match in less than six weeks time will blow away the cobwebs and the doubts of many, this is a Newcastle United team and squad that will be very competitive in 2024/25.