Sport analysis project has been hit with a daunting reality check in recent weeks. It will take time – and some more millions – to get Newcastle back on track.
Kieran Trippier of Newcastle United looks dejected during the Carabao Cup Quarter Final match between Chelsea and Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge
This run of form was always in the post for Newcastle United and, by extension, Eddie Howe’s dressing room lieutenant Kieran Trippier.
Newcastle have come a long way in two years but being fast-tracked into the top four perhaps convinced some they were further along the journey than they really are.
It is a club transformed but not one that is yet ready to shoulder the burden of battling in Europe, a competitive Premier League and in a cup competition they crave victory in. That is no disgrace – just a reminder of how much work still needs to be done at St James’ Park.
That fact not lost on those inside the club. One source with knowledge of the owners’ intentions summed it up succinctly: “It’s year two of a long, long-term project. Anyone judging them after a bad week really doesn’t understand that.”
And here is where perspective is required: two years ago the club was 19th in the Premier League with just a single victory to their name. Heading into Christmas 2023 they are sixth, within reach of the top four and having just absorbed bruising but very narrow exits from two cup competitions.
What has become clear in the last week is that the harsh lessons learned in December cannot be ignored.
Much was made of Trippier’s mistake – and subsequent penalty miss – at Stamford Bridge but Newcastle looked a shadow of the team that went toe-to-toe with Paris Saint-Germain just a few short weeks ago.
Form, fitness and an away day philosophy all need to be rediscovered fast. They take their fatigued limbs to Luton before Christmas. It has the feel of an examination of their top four credentials.
Over the longer term there are issues and those inside St James’ Park insist solutions will be found.
Newcastle under PIF has become obsessed with the idea of being “process-driven”, with the club’s hierarchy demanding methodology and reasoning behind decisions is explained. The end-of-season debrief – which will include takeaways from coming up short in the Champions League – should be interesting.
Howe’s style of football looks unplayable at times, especially on high octane St James’ Park nights when high calibre opposition can be blown away. But it had not been tested in the rarefied air of a Champions League campaign, when bodies and minds are sapped by the concentration required to compete.
While other English clubs and their managers have experience at that level to draw on, it was unfamiliar to Newcastle, who hitherto under Howe knew only to attack every challenge head on. He is a football obsessive who craves solutions, so it may be that tweaks are needed in his style or preparation if they are to absorb the demands of playing three times a week in the future. More rotation will be required.
And the ownership clearly need to invest further. Newcastle have a good group but it needs more quality – starting with another forward, centre-back and number six.
The academy needs to continue to produce, as they do at elite clubs. All require many millions and creative ways to outfox FFP.
This season Newcastle have missed the recovery time they were able to draw on last year.
Despite considerable investment in sports science and analysis in the last 18 months, the players have become more susceptible to injury and some are clearly playing perilously close to the dreaded “red zone” when muscle strains and tears become an occupational hazard.
Trippier probably falls into that category. He was limping as he left St James’ Park a week ago, carrying the scars of 24 appearances and three draining international breaks. Mistakes have coincided with fatigue and no Newcastle fan attached to reality will blame him for Tuesday’s Carabao Cup exit.
If there is one thing you can predict with certainty it is that when his form returns, so too will Newcastle’s aura.
