St. James Park is starting to feel like a fortress again, with Eddie Howe’s team currently in the top four just over a year after their takeover.
Howe is certainly working his magic on Tyneside at the moment. The Toon army is starting to feel united once again, and just a few signings since their Saudi takeover has completely transformed the mood in Newcastle, and the manager deserves all the credit for the huge changes that have been made in such little time.
We already knew Eddie Howe was a top manager after taking Bournemouth from the bottom of the football league all the way to the top with limited funds. But with Bournemouth being the smallest ever club to play at the top level, Newcastle was bound to be a different, and bigger challenge for Howe. He has now proved himself as top managers in the league, installing his philosophy quickly and effectively.
The most important and effective thing Howe could do was change the culture and attitude at the football club. Under Bruce and Mike Ashley, it felt that Newcastle they were demotivated, had a loser’s mentality, and failed to invest effectively in transfer windows. When Howe joined under new ownership, this changed instantly. Newcastle is now simply acting like a bigger club – playing with guts in big games, installing belief and character in a team that seemed dead and signing players to match the vision of the football club.
The best thing has certainly been the recruitment since Newcastle have joined. They are taking the slow, patient route to the top similarly to how Man City did. They are developing very good players into world class players, and making a varied mix to make the team more solid and reliable while making a few big money signings.
Their first January transfer window was certainly poignant. Kieran Trippier had reformed himself into a born winner under Simeone at Atletico, and it felt like the perfect player to start this project. Ordinarily this signing would not have been made, but convincing players to join Newcastle will only become more and more attractive. The standout so far has been Bruno Guimaraes so far. The Brazilian midfielder has been an utter revelation. He is top of passing and interception stats and allows Newcastle to dominate games more often and create more. He is an ultimate player which any manager would dream of and could become world class in a few years.
The summer window saw Newcastle’s first big name, big money signing. Throwing £60m at Alexander Isak, who was impressive at the Euros, was the first statement made to the rest of the league. It felt like this has motivated the changes in certain players at the club. Joelinton has been revelation since the genius move from Howe to change his position to central midfield. Miguel Almiron has been efficient in front of goal despite being scoreless for months before Howe came in, and Sven Botman was an incredibly smart signing, whom Newcastle beat many elite clubs to get the signature of.
The Newcastle project is only at the start, and it is quite scary how good they have already become. A top manager, some elite level players and they will inevitably get better, and they are already challenging for Champions League football. It is interesting how long it will take them to challenge for titles and trophies, and it feels as if that moment is only a few years away. Having already had a close-run game with the champions Manchester City earlier on in the season and beating Tottenham Hotspur in their own backyard will only become less and less of a surprise.
Undoubtedly, being a Newcastle fan is extremely exciting right now, and the clubs vision is those which we can associate with the best clubs in world football.
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