THRU BLACK & WHITE EYES – January – 5/Jan/24

Newcastle United enter a pivotal month with confidence ...

This month is usually a bit shit. The weather is manky and we’re spent up after Christmas. The year stretches steeply ahead and days of sunshine and comfort seem a long way off.

But for Newcastle United this is a pivotal month and one in which our collective attention is going to be focused more strongly than even normally with Cup ties and vital PL fixtures coming thick and fast. I’ve said it before but this is the world we longed to be in during those bleak Ashley years.

Obviously we have a huge game on Tuesday night at The Emirates taking on Arsenal in the first leg of the League Cup semi final. It is critical we are still in the contest for the second leg when we get The Gunners back to SJP.

Then there is Bromley in the third round of the FAC this Saturday and I’ve been scarred too many times by “cup-shocks” to regard that contest as a gimmee for Newcastle United. The Bromley contingent will have to be taken seriously but anything less than a win in normal time is hard to conceive.

Then there are PL fixtures v Wolves (h), Bournemouth (h), Southampton (a) before February starts with Fulham (h). They offer us a huge opportunity to get amongst the top positions and make it difficult to be caught.

The month has started well, just as the year ended on a highly positive note. We are right to be cautiously optimistic.

The win at Spurs keeps us in fifth and Arsenal’s draw at Brighton means we are only a mere 5 points away from Arteta’s men, widely considered to be still in the PL title race.

With twenty games gone we are a point ahead of Champions Man City and a point behind Chelsea, another club touted as potential PL challengers. As I write we’re 2 points behind an admirable Forest side who are disrupting the PL table this season – fair play to them.

More challenging is the 10 points we are behind Liverpool in first place. And they have two games in hand as I type this up so I’m not sure what point I’m attempting to make with that one ....

TF Match Report - Tottenham 1-2 Newcastle Utd

I didn’t make us brilliant at Tottenham. We had our moments in that first half when we looked dominant and every time we went forward we looked like we would score. The second half had us sitting deeper and Spurs had more possession. Although most of the post-match discussion has centred on a hand-ball from Joelinton in the run up to our goal, I thought that distracted from a good Spurs display who were ravaged by injuries, illness and suspension.

They showed a good spirit in the circumstances but we’d done enough in the first half to win the game and although the home team came close in the second period, it wasn’t to be for them.

Naturally, Antony Gordon getting his bugle burst in their box with a fair shout for a penalty is of secondary importance to a media which loves to give a platform to a ranting, defeated manager.

I smiled watching MoTD when listening to Arteta moaning about Brighton’s penalty because it was quite a day for whingeing amongst North London’s two major clubs, given Postecoglu had been greeting his eyes out for the TV cameras about losing to us.

The whole nonsense isn’t helped by pundits and commentators whose ignorance of the laws of the game is staggering considering the big salaries they are on.

TF Player Ratings - Tottenham 1-2 Newcastle Utd

I listened to Karen Carney whining that because she didn’t like the hand-ball law our goal shouldn’t have been allowed although she was forced to accept it was the law.

This kind of comment says everything about the limited reasoning skills of those passing comment on football whose role is surely to inform and entertain as opposed to bleat nonsensically. No less than Henry Winter, respected football journalist of many years standing has detailed the laws of the game, supported by experienced former Referee Keith Hackett.

Not that this will prevent the chattering nonsense of Talksport and their ilk.

All of the blah-blah-blah plays into Postecoglu’s desire to distract the football media from the fact his team has not won at home since early November and has lost half the games they have played this season. It was an art not so much perfected by Alex Ferguson when at Man Utd as created by him. Mourinho did similar at Chelsea but “Big Whinge” isn’t pulling it off particularly well at Spurs where it looks like a straightforward smokescreen from a failing season. I can’t see him lasting into the summer.

Let Arteta and Postecoglu and play out their own psycho-dramas, I prefer Eddie Howe’s straightforward assessments and winning football matches.

THE SPECIAL - Spurs Away

I don’t think I was the only one to be surprised by the return of Sven Botman to the starting eleven on Saturday. Howe had been talking positively about our excellent Dutch defender but I hadn’t imagined he would make it out onto the park at Spurs. In my half-baked thinking I had him getting a run out v Bromley as his return.

Nevertheless he was a welcome sight at Tottenham and we all hope he has come through his return undamaged. He will be a massive boost in the second half of the season fitness permitting.

It will be interesting to see if he makes the line-up at Arsenal where we have Schar suspended and as if that wasn’t enough of a blow, our skipper and talisman, Bruno Guimarães is also missing through suspension too.

We may also see the end of an era at Arsenal. Martin Dubravka, who has covered excellently for Nick Pope recently, may play his last game for Newcastle United on Tuesday night before a rumoured move to the Saudi Premier League. Dubravka we will all recall was brought into the club by Rafa Benitez and although has had his ups and downs with us, the Czech will be fondly remembered by supporters when he finally does leave. He has been on a journey with United pre and post takeover.

Also apparently edging towards the exit is Miggy Almiron, linked to Charlotte FC in the USA. At one time Almiron was a record Newcastle United signing at £20m when it took the threat of a January resignation from Rafa Benitez to persuade Ashley to part with the transfer fee for the Paraguayan.

A New Stadium in Leazes Park – Not Impossible

Again, Miggy has been a popular player at United and a good servant for us. He has done his bit and shared some wonderful moments with us. Who will forget that first goal v PSG at the Leazes End in the Champions League when SJP erupted?

I’m sure both lads will be welcomed back for visits if the reporting is accurate and they leave us soon.

Whether the departures of Dubravka and Almiron would lead to new recruits is unknown but several players are being linked however accurately or otherwise.

Others tipped for potential departures this month are Kieran Trippier and Sean Longstaff. There is logic in selling both, albeit I’m in no hurry to see either lad leave.

Trippier will be a top earner and his departure would free up space on the payroll. For PSR purposes any fee received for Longstaff would be pure profit given he came through the ranks and there is no fee owing.

For Longstaff there is Lewis Miley coming through who might be seen as Sean’s replacement and with more potential to fulfil than his fellow Geordie.

Talk of either Trippier and Longstaff leaving has been less overt than Dubravka and Almiron but they appear possibilities.

Losing Trippier’s experience and leadership at this vital stage of the season would be a huge risk for me and I don’t think I’m being over-dramatic to suggest it could be the difference between European qualification or not. Similarly, Longstaff is reliable, whole-hearted and honest. I think we’d lose something if he departs. However, I do acknowledge these difficult decisions need to be made in the PSR world we are in.

There are cases for Barnes and Targett to be in scope of moves too.

This month is going to be a big test for Paul Mitchell, Sporting Director who arrived last summer with a reputation for recruitment but presided over little incoming over the last window. There was also much fevered coverage of Mitchell’s relationship with Howe and a clumsy press interview which I’d hope all parties have learned from.

Will we make any signings this window? I believe they will try, subject to players leaving, but it would be a strange state of affairs were we to go three successive windows without making a significant signing. But that’s the world of PSR we live in sadly.

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Whether this month will be the one in which we learn more about what is happening with SJP (extending or moving) remains to be seen. I’ve read some journalists refer to actual builders, potential meetings with transport operator NEXUS and analysis of the new Everton stadium. It’s all highly speculative but with so much interest in what United will do, I expect even the smallest amount of information will be wrung out for those all important clicks online etc. Whether it is truly informative or not you can judge.

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Our second foot into 2025 however takes us back to north London and Arsenal in the LC SF First Leg.

There will be 8000 Mags at The Emirates and there is no question the support to Eddie and the lads will be phenomenal.

Let’s still be in the tie for the return on Barrack Road.

Good luck United, you can do it!

Keep On, Keepin’ On ...

Michael Martin, @TFMick1892.bsky.social / @TFMick1892