Why has Newcastle United struggled this season?

Newcastle United played in the Champions League last season, one of their biggest achievements in the last two decades.

After several years of mediocre performance, the Magpies ended the 2022/2023 term in Europe’s top club competition and proved to be a handful for the likes of PSG and AC Milan in their group.

It was one of the steps in the right direction for the club’s owners, who want to build the next Manchester City or PSG in England.

Newcastle’s ownership makes them the richest club in the world, and they have some world-class talents in their squad.

Despite interest from the bigger clubs in the likes of Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes, Newcastle has kept both of them.

They are on long-term deals at the club, so there is no need to panic, even though extending these contracts further will help.

Fans who have been buying Newcastle tickets were looking forward to another fantastic season from their club after failing to qualify for Europe last term.

Playing in the Champions League in 2023/2024 negatively affected Newcastle because they were not used to that kind of workload.

They are now looking to do much better as the weight of playing in Europe is off their schedule, but they have been struggling.

The Newcastle team we have watched since the start of this term has been poor, and it does not seem like things will change for them soon.

Their best players have looked uninterested in winning, or at least they have not been good enough on the pitch, and Eddie Howe is now under serious pressure.

In this article, we consider why Newcastle’s season has been poor so far.

Lack of summer investment

As one of the richest clubs in the world, Newcastle's owners have strong financial muscles, so we expected them to spend a lot of money in the summer.

They needed to do that to successfully campaign for the fourth spot on the Premier League table when the term ends.

However, the Magpies spent the whole of June trying to sell some players instead of buying after it emerged that they had to make some sales if they are serious about avoiding a point deduction for falling foul of PSR.

In the end, Newcastle sold impressive youngsters like Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh just to save themselves from some problems.

After June, they added some new players to their squad, but there was no significant signing. They landed Lloyd Kelly on a free transfer and signed William Osula for £15m while completing a move for Lewis Hall from Chelsea, among other moves.

This was an insufficient summer exercise for a team expected to challenge for a Champions League spot, and it is one of the reasons they are struggling.

There is a need to inject some fresh talents into their team, and they failed to do so when they had the chance.

Tired players

Newcastle had one of the most motivated groups of players last season, and it was almost certain that the Magpies would keep going and make good finishes to the seasons ahead.

However, after competing in the Champions League, Carabao Cup, FA Cup and Premier League last term, most of their players are tired.

Teams like Manchester United strengthened their squad significantly in the summer to avoid cases of tired players not having an alternative to play when they are unable to carry on.

Newcastle should have borrowed a leaf from the Red Devils, but they did not, and that failure to improve their options has led to them having so many tired players now.

When they play, they do not have the energy to maintain the same intensity they start matches with, which was easily the case in the previous seasons.

Players need proper rest to function at their optimum, but Newcastle stars have hardly had time to rest since the beginning of last season.

Boring tactics

Eddie Howe got this Newcastle job despite being unemployed at the time and it is because the club’s leadership trusted his tactics.

The Englishman’s Bournemouth team played outstanding football, but that did not stop them from being relegated before he left.

He started his reign at Newcastle in fantastic fashion and his 4-3-3 formation was a delight to watch as he emphasises on the use of vertical passes to take advantage of spaces whenever they open up.

Newcastle is brave in this approach and almost never changes it, no matter who the opponent is, which is great for any manager.

However, managers who keep their players excited and active usually have to develop new methods and try new tactics, especially when the results no longer go the way that they would like.

Howe has so far stuck to what he knows and believes in, which has resulted in his players looking bored on the pitch when opponents find them out.

Teams have studied them for a long time and can now track their runs and some of their moves, making it hard for them to come up with new ways of scoring and winning.

Leadership tussle

Amanda Staveley was the face of the Newcastle brand after the Saudi Arabian government bought a majority stake at the club.

She had a minority shares in the team and had been seen as the face of the brand, but in July this year, it was announced that she was leaving her role and had been bought out of the club.

That created an unnecessary distraction for the team, with most of its players now wondering what the future holds.

Staveley was a clear line of communication between the players and other employees, and the club’s owner. Wwhen her departure was announced it created some uncertainty in the air, with Howe having to answer many questions about the club’s leadership and that may have affected the players as well.

Uncertainty over the future of key players

Newcastle United has some of the best players in the Premier League, and because they have yet to establish themselves as one of the league’s big boys, other bigger clubs are eyeing their players.

They need to get the likes of Isak and Guimaraes on new deals, but it seems they will not succeed soon.

Howe recently spoke about the difficulty that the club is facing in getting Isak on a new contract, as they do not want to break PSR.

News like this creates fear in the camp and the players are constantly concerned if they will lose a teammate who is a key player because the club needs to sell.

If they do not address the future of these important players and get them to sign new contracts soon, the team might continue to underperform.

The players in question would also wonder why the club has not taken a decision about their future as seriously as they should have.

Conclusion

Newcastle’s recent rise to fame is one reason the Premier League is unpredictable and serves its followers well.

However, they need to make some changes and some big decisions to become one of the top four contenders again.