NOU CAMP — It felt like an ending for Newcastle United – and not just for a Champions League campaign that has often been a life raft in stormy waters for Eddie Howe.
A second half nightmare in the Nou Camp felt like a cruel conclusion to a European adventure that has brought vivid highs and some sobering lows.
They must learn from it. Here are the lessons from a brutal night in Barcelona and a Champions League campaign that brought with it clarity on what is required.
Newcastle aren’t up to scratch in two key positions
It was damning that Newcastle began what Howe called the biggest game in the club’s hlistory with Aaron Ramsdale in goal and Anthony Gordon up front. When qualification for Europe’s elite competition was clinched on the final day of last season, that was not part of the plan.
Ramsdale was a panicky Plan B after first choice targets fell through and he is not the long-term answer. Links to Robin Risser of Lens carry truth and that is the direction the club needs to go down and Howe needs to have faith in. The preference for tried and trusted needs to change.
Ramsdale looks unlikely to be Newcastle’s No 1 next season (Photo: Getty)More damningly Newcastle played two games and didn’t give either Nick Woltemade or Yoane Wissa a minute of football. Repairing that situation is going to take major surgery in the summer transfer window, and probably taking a significant loss on one or the other.
Put up or shut up on Sandro Tonali
The comparisons with Alexander Isak’s situation are inevitable but misleading. For a start the Swede always felt irreplaceable, with strikers matching his profile gold dust. The panic around his exit was because he was so important to Howe’s system and much of this season’s struggles are because of that.
The preference should be to keep Tonali despite significant interest in the midfielder. Howe insists he is totally committed and he is largely showing that on the pitch. But clear parameters around his future should be established now: the asking price needs to be high and Newcastle have to war-game every scenario.
Ross Wilson needs to be ruthless
Kieran Trippier and Fabian Schar have been unbelievable servants for Newcastle but this is a squad that needs fresh blood and perhaps the impending end of the pair’s contracts offers solutions.
Insiders have told The i Paper that Newcastle have to operate a one in, one out policy because of financial fair play. That means tough calls have to be made by sporting director Ross Wilson.
Newcastle under Howe haven’t been good at saying goodbyes. That has to change.
Eddie Howe remains the right man to do it
Howe will know things need to change on Tyneside after a tough season (Photo: Getty)Was he bold or naive? For 52 minutes of the first half (they conceded deep in stoppage time once more) you would have said the former. At full-time it felt like the latter.
But Howe is evolving, much as his critics might suggest he isn’t. Tactically Newcastle have been good even if this season has tested him more than any other.
He struck the right tone afterwards when he said that Newcastle must “play as if their lives depended on it” in Sunday’s Tyne-Wear derby. His reputation would take a dent if they allowed Sunderland to do the double on a team with European pretensions but it shouldn’t be terminal.
He must adapt – recruitment policy must change – but Howe is a big reason why Newcastle are on this stage in the first place. An end of season review with PIF must be bracingly honest and changes must be made but he deserves the chance to take it on.
2030 dream is just that unless something radical happens
Chief executive David Hopkinson’s ambition of competing for top honours in less than four years sounds good but the reality feels different. Newcastle have so much work to do on and off-the-pitch and the pace of change remains a problem.
Financial regulations aren’t loosening any time soon and that means sharp recruitment only gets them so far. They need a spark from somewhere else. Ticking off a big infrastructure project – the training ground is closest – is essential before the start of next season.
Without it, PIF’s 2030 vision – eloquently explained by Hopkinson – feels more like a pipe dream.
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