Gone are the rainy days in St James’ Park, or at least the bad faces. Since the purchase of Newcastle by the Saudi crown prince Mohamed Bin Salman –accused of wanting to whitewash his image with this operation–, the English team has taken flight in the Premier League, where they flirted with relegation just a few months ago but where they now beat big teams like Arsenal with authority.
The 2-0 victory against Mikel Arteta’s team on Monday was the latest demonstration of Newcastle’s power, not only from a financial point of view, but also sporting. A change of course that could not be explained without the arrival of Eddie Howe on the Magpies’ benchwho in the second part of the season have significantly improved their game, more courageous and showy.
That’s the way it is, the former Bournemouth manager, who has been nominated for best manager of the season in the Premierhas tried to preserve Newcastle’s defensive solidity by adding a more creative proposal in attack: long balls have gone from being the only tool available to one of the many options of the English team, which has benefited from the arrival of players with better foot.
This is the case of Bruno Guimaraes, who arrived in the winter for 42 million euros, and who is already one of the key players in Howe’s scheme, very attracted by the Brazilian’s ability to combine and his ability to keep the ball. Two keys in this new Newcastle, which had a brilliant February at the hands of Kieran Trippier.
To the surprise of many fans, the English right-back traded Atlético de Madrid for Newcastle for 12 million also this winter, and despite initial skepticism, Trippier chained four outstanding games that gave wings to the magpies again and that they served him to receive the captain’s armband surprisingly early against Aston Villa, against whom he scored a great free-kick goal.
However, the story took a turn that same day, and shortly after scoring his goal, Trippier broke the fifth metatarsal in his foot. A serious injury that has kept him away from the pitch in the last three months, but has not affected Newcastle too much, which continued in its line and has managed to get out of the bottom of the table.
Thus, Howe’s team is currently in 12th place in the Premier League table with 46 points, 12 below Manchester United. “If Howe had arrived a month earlier, Newcastle would be in European positions”the fans of the English team sighed yesterday, increasingly enthusiastic about their team and their players.
Financial Fair Play, a conditioning factor
Waiting for new additions in the summer market, Howe himself made it clear that UEFA’s economic control would be an obstacle to his interests. “Financial Fair Play has an impact on what we can do in the summer. It is not an option to completely change the team,” the Newcastle coach acknowledged last week, who meanwhile enjoys other high-level veterans such as goalkeeper Alex Duvrabka or winger Allan Saint-Maximin.