The New Season is Here

The premier League kicks off tomorrow night and for Newcastle we are the early kick off on Saturday away at Villa Park. The start of the season should be filled with optimism and hope that we can improve on last seasons success but with the Swedish shaped cloud hanging over the club and other frustrations about missing out on so many players it is hard to get excited for the season.

Thaiw has completed his move from Ac Milan and will add much needed depth in defence to add to Ramsdale and Elanga as confirmed deals and heavy links with both Wissa and Jacob Ramsey still out there out the squad looks to be bolstering up in a measured way. That be said we won’t take anything for granted with links until they are made official.

I look at our 1^st three games and think 4 points may be a good return considering everything else that is going on with the club.

Aston Villa away is always a tricky fixture for us and our record over the last 10 games at Villa Park reads as W2 D3 L5 Goals scored 7 Goals conceded 16. That isn’t good reading, but 1^st game of the season is a complete clean slate and being away from home might be a good thing in the grand scheme of things.

Alexander Isak

I want to try and keep the Isak talk to a minimum because I am fed up with it and disgusted with everything that happened. I want to be careful with judgment as well because how the media spin certain things can also blur the lines between fact and fiction.

However, it is looking obvious that the best thing for the club may be for Isak to leave but why should we accept a massive cut price deal just because he (Or his agent) has gone about it this way. As far as I am aware there has been no formal transfer request, He still has just under 3 years on his deal and is contracted to Newcastle United. In my opinion we as a club are currently looking a bit weak, losing out on players throughout the summer and having a perceived lack of control over this situation. We may not be able to come out of this situation stronger, but I still believe we can come out of this showing that we will not be walked over by players or bigger clubs than us. Here are things as I see it. This is only my opinions, and I may be completely off the mark.

·       Sell the player on our terms. We have set the asking price of 150 million and if that isn’t reached then he doesn’t leave. Brighton always maximise their incoming transfer fees, Nottingham Forest displayed a show of strength with Gibbs-White. Isak is our player you want him, pay the asking price.

·       Isak leaves but not to the premier league. In the world of financial fair play and PSR getting the outright fee we want may be difficult. So, it may be a Loan, Loan to Buy, or Structured deal. That is a logical way to go but if we do go that route it cannot be to a premier league club. Why should we strengthen our rivals and their PSR Calculations while weakening our club. Despite everything Isak is a world class Striker who would be a starter for at least 90% of clubs in the world so finding a suitor outside of the premier league would not be difficult. The other option is a straight Loan to Saudi League. PIF are rightly always looking to improve their league and Isak would raise the profile even further. I am also confident that any loan fee would be as high as it physically can be without breaking any rules. The big problem there is that Isak may not want to play in the Saudi Pro League at this stage of his career.

·       Isak Stays and Plays with the reserves. It would be a show of strength, but I am not a fan of this option. It may potentially take away from another players development, he may have a negative impact while training with those players and his value would decrease even if it were only until January.

·       Isak is reintegrated into the squad. This would be scrutinised so much from fans, the media everyone that the circus would carry on past the transfer window which could have a constant impact. The only way I can see Isak coming back into the team working is if he comes out with a statement or video and speaking about everything, the leadership group also coming out with a statement or video about their feelings about it and Eddie Howe doing the same. It is unlikely all of that would happen but would need to see a proper show of solidarity if he is back in the team. The question mark is always going to be there while he is our player from fans and the media and does risk the chaos continuing regardless.

Academy Kick Off this weekend as well

This weekend also sees the U21s and the U18s start their respective league campaigns.

The U21s kicked off their competitive campaign last night with an impressive comeback from 3-1 to beat Gateshead 4-3. Senusi impressed especially in the second half and looks like a player we could develop into a first team regular. Sean Neave also impressed me with his composure and decision making especially in the second half and I’m looking forward to being able to watch more of the U21s when Broadcast’s allow.

The Under 21s first Leave game is at Home to Southampton on Sunday at 3 o clock.

The Under 18s first game is on Saturday and kick off at the same time as the 1^st team with a home game against Blackburn Rovers.

The Lasses in Pre-Season

It was great for me to be back up in Newcastle on Saturday and catch up with a lot of the Newcastle United Women’s community. On the pitch we were beaten by Atletico Madrid but there is no shame in that as they are top level Champions League side. We did lack a bit of creativity especially in the second half but were early in pre-season and hopefully there is still plenty of time for Becky and her coaching staff to work on various tactical tweaks for the season. It looked from where we sat that we were playing 3 at the back so will be interesting to see if we have a similar set up for the first game of the season. Ironically, we play Nottingham Forest this coming Sunday in a behind closed doors fixture to match that opening day.

Round Up

That is my little round up for the week. I am aiming to be able to do a similar thing every week alongside occasionally, specific little bits of writing (For example Champions League draw, Lasses season preview etc).

Howay the Lads and Lasses

Matt