Newcastle United fans preparing for the 2026/27 Premier League season.
Less than two weeks to go now until Liverpool travel to St James’ Park.
An ‘interesting’ summer so far…
So many talking points.
An ideal time to get a snapshot of views from Newcastle United fans on their thoughts.
So we sent out questions to a number of regular/irregular contributors to The Mag, varying to a degree the questions that different fans received to answer.
Next up answering the questions we have Jamie Smith:
Hand on heart, what position do you currently believe Newcastle United are most likely to finish in the 2026/27 Premier League season?
It’s very hard to predict given the extent of the unknown. But as things stand, on the evidence of pre-season and the last campaign I’m going to say bottom half, maybe 14th or so.
If Eddie Howe had stayed would your 2026/27 prediction have been different (up or down…)?
I’d have probably said the same, there is enough talent there to garner some points, but the level of inexperience will cost us. The main difference is if Jaissle reinvigorates and revolutionises the squad there’s maybe potential for surprising performances that I wouldn’t have seen as likely under Howe.
Do you see a potential lack of leadership on the pitch next season with Bruno Guimaraes following Kieran Trippier out of the club?
This is a massive concern. So many keyboard commentators out there clearly don’t get the mindset of playing competitive team sport. I totally understand the function of the leadership group in driving the squad togetherness and keeping a shared ethos, something that was evident in our success of recent years. Losing two crucial elements of that with no real obvious people to step up could be damaging for morale if things get tough. The attempt to sign Hojberg was, I think, with this in mind and I would welcome a similar signing of this ilk in the vein of bringing Trippier in a few years ago. Time is running out of course.
Who do you think would be best choice of NUFC captain?
It’s a choice of one: Dan Burn is the one remaining figurehead at the club and his role in the squad will be essential. Botman’s awful pre-season suggests BDB starts the season but at 34 years old he can’t be starting every game. No one wants to see him at left back so to properly rotate the centre half group we need another leader on the pitch.
No one is standing out here – Miley is a future captain but doesn’t fit that bill yet, Joelinton is a loose cannon and another who shouldn’t be there every week and Murphy’s starts should be few and far between. Like I’ve said, a signing is needed who can settle in while Burn takes the lead but is ready to step up whenever he drops out.
The opening six league games are Liverpool home, Spurs away, Bournemouth home, Leeds away, Hull home and Coventry away. How many points would Newcastle need to take for you to be happy and what would you predict will be the reality?
I think you need at least 10 from a fairly benign run of matches. I am extremely worried that the opening two fixtures could be disastrous and set the wrong tone, so I’ll predict a reality of 8 points.
What do you see as the biggest priorities in the remainder of the transfer market this summer?
Full back cover which may be sorted with Benfica’s Dedic, then an adequate experienced midfielder. The quality of Bruno will not be replaceable but if we can get someone who passes forward and has a bit of a figurehead stature that may be enough for the potential around them to spark off. I’d like an extra couple of players as well but these two at least might convince me a relegation battle can be avoided.
With so much change, how do you currently feel when it comes to balancing fears of the end of a relatively successful era and hopes of the dawning of the chance of a new successful different era? (So if you have 100% fears and 0% hopes that would be 100/0, if feeling 60% fear and 40% hope then 60/40)
This really got me thinking. I am going to go with 67/33. Some of the new talent is exciting and the new manager unknown so you’ve got to have some degree of hope. But there have been so many blows – the UEFA sanctions, the big sales, no real signs of arresting last season’s slide, the lack of any promise from the owners – that I’m two thirds pessimistic.
Anthony Gordon leaving, your thoughts?
A decent fee for a player that did a good job for us but blew hot and cold, especially last season. Done quickly with ample time to react and can’t begrudge the lad a move to Barcelona and I’ll think well of him in future should we ever see him at SJP again. He gave us some terrific moments during his time here.
Sandro Tonali leaving, your thoughts?
A terrific player but part of the problem last year. Did not step up in Bruno’s injury absence and contributed 0 in terms of league goal contributions. The fee is astronomical for a hard running midfielder who never really owned games and the wrong choice of destination I think. Tonali needs to be in a quality team where he can do what he’s good at while others make it happen. Spurs have a poor squad with some ongoing improvements but not enough for Tonali to thrive and he’s stuck there on a long term contract now.
I think his legacy here will be that he never massively seems to want to be here and left for a project that offered better money but not a glaringly obvious step up. Having said all that, I fully expect him to notch his first PL goal since Chelsea were veteran in May 2025 when I head to the Insert Naming Rights Here Stadium in a couple of weeks. Make no mistake, the big miss will be Bruno.
By say Christmas and with all players fit, what do you predict will be the Newcastle United first choice eleven for the 2026/27 season and please put ‘new signing’ in any position where you think that will turn out to be the case.
Hornicek; Livramento, Hall, Burn, Thiaw; Steur, New signing, Bamba; Barnes, Wissa, Elanga.
There are a few punts in there and I look forward to being laughed at when this is reviewed after the Boxing Day game.
What would represent success now in the 2026/27 season for Newcastle United?
Success per se would be qualification for any sort of Europe. I’m sticking with that for now but I don’t blame any of my peers who would answer this with simply staying in the Premier League, navigating the UEFA punishment and living to fight another day.
What do you now see as the minimum Newcastle United need to achieve this coming season?
Said erstwhile aforementioned stopping up. It shouldn’t even be a consideration after the years we’ve had but 17th is yery bottom line and no mistake.
Predict the top six in the Premier League (in order) and which three clubs will be relegated in 2026/27.
Arsenal look likely to retain their title as the only side without major transition. Chelsea are a bin fire but Alonso has done great things so far in management so I’m putting them second just based on him. Man City’s squad is too expensive to not come third at least, even if Maresca needs time.
I suspect Villa can’t continue defying the odds so I’ll go with the usual suspects as follows: Spurs, Liverpool Man Utd. I think the latter two will endure poor seasons but still get in amongst the CL/Europa places. There’s an opportunity here for someone to interloper on that top six given the amount of transition but everyone else is just too far off. I’ll throw in Forest as dark horses.
Relegation – Hull are terribly under equipped and will come bottom. I have a suspicion Fulham are due a fall off post-Silva. One of Sunderland/Bournemouth/Brighton will get an almighty shock at how difficult juggling Europe is and be right in there, but it’s likely to be another promoted team goes down. I’ll say Ipswich after McKenna’s leaving has removed their consistency.
Which eight current Newcastle United players (in order) are going to be most important for the 2026/27 season?
Hornicek needs to adapt quick and be as good as his predecessors from his neck of the woods. Then Burn as leader, Hall to be as good as last time and stay fit and I’ll go with Wissa and Osula to score some goals and Bamba and Toure to settle into their roles in the squad. Finally, perhaps most importantly, if Sean Steur can settle and look as good as he has in pre-season flashes, he could be the absolute key. He’s eighth because that’s a big If.
Credit: Newcastle United FC
Some time ago Yasir Al-Rumayyan said the intention was to make Newcastle United number one in the world, how far along the road to that do you think we are?
We are better off than under Ashley and getting our name on a trophy has removed a significant blight on our name. A lot of credit for this goes to Eddie Howe and whoever ran the recruitment programme from 2022-24 and the magnificent progress since then is in danger of being eradicated as we are once more looking like a lower mid table Premier League participant.
We have increased revenue considerably despite the missed chances on big infrastructure so I’d say in comparison to where we were when taken over we are around 20-30% of the way further forward in being number one. This could be set for a regression in the next twelve months though.
NUFC CEO David Hopkinson said the intention is that by 2030 the club will be competing to win all competitions. What do you make of what he said?
I sort of liked the bolshiness of it all but the more that happens the more ridiculous it seems. For me that suggests we’d need to be seriously challenging to win the Premier League within 3 years and where we are now it feels like if we’re hoisting a League title trophy any time soon it will be the Championship. Maybe he’s got something up his sleeve but I wonder if he regrets saying this already?
How important (or not) is a huge new stadium for Newcastle United?
If you’re serious about the huge ambition, it’s vital. Even an announcement of intention would be a start.
When the takeover happened on 7 October 2021, if somebody at that point had told you then what would happen by August 2026, would you have taken it?
Oh yeah. I wrote a bit last year saying that the best football experiences of my life have been in this period, some of the games, the trips and the general feeling. I was resigned to never attending another Champions League game (maybe even European) and I’d all but given up on somehow fluking a trophy. The League Cup win was the bucket list item I had no control over and the day at Wembley, subsequent celebrations and the parade were life memories for me and the city. My current despondency is borne out of fear of losing all that, but I’m grateful it happened and I’ll always remember that when it comes to those who I credit with making it happen.
Did England have a successful 2026 World Cup finals?
Yes. Not seeing out the lead against Argentina was a failure but you can’t argue with third.
What thoughts do you have on the 2026 World Cup finals overall?
I enjoy the World Cup and its constant stream of matches, and England doing well always helps. However, the naked corruption and Americanisation was ruinous for me, not least because it’s indicative of how football is headed. The ultra greed allowing only a few big organisations to thrive strangles the multi club competitiveness that European football has always thrived on and this example of everything being run as a business where the rich get richer leaves a foul taste, all against the backdrop of Newcastle (and Villa) being forced to sell our best players to the biggest “franchises”. The further the game moves towards the USA the more it dies.
Bruno Guimaraes wanting to leave Newcastle United after four and a half years, has that changed your opinion of him as a person?
I’ve written a full bit saying that Bruno has been magnificent for us and given the unfulfilled potential here no one can begrudge him seeking success and riches elsewhere. The choice of destination rankles but I am certain he’ll be remembered warmly (even if he does get a torrid time when he turns up here in their shirt, which I thoroughly endorse btw). It can be true that he loved the club and area here and still sees it as not aligning with his ambitions. It hurts to see him in that Arsenal shirt in a way that hasn’t hit with the other high profile departures and I would have loved him to give us that extra year to help stabilise. But I get it.
Claimed back in October 2021 that Newcastle United was simply a ‘Sportswashing’ project for Saudi Arabia, has that proved to be the reality?
No, it never was that imo. I think they looked at the financials and wanted to be involved in the Premier League and didn’t expect it to be a means of improving their reputation, or possibly care either way. It’s not often something occurs at NUFC without some kind of media response highlighting Saudi atrocities so if there was any intent in this direction it’s not worked.
Do you think the Newcastle United owners have a strong long-term plan for the club, or are they making it up as they go along?
Long term straw man plan of build it up and make a return. The detailed plan is absolutely made up as we go along by the revolving door of senior staff.
What do you think of the choice of Matthias Jaissle as the new NUFC boss?
The whole thing about some fans screaming for Howe out was always questionable in that some certain seemed to have a belief we could attract an ‘elite’ manager, which is someone they know from playing FIFA or watching YouTube that was never realistically going to entertain a club with very real SCR restrictions. As a young manager with grit in his eye who has achieved big things elsewhere, Jaissle is the exact profile we need. Now he needs the tools to work with and everyone should be entirely behind him in the long slog.
Three words to describe how you currently feel as a Newcastle United fan?
Deflated, uncertain and trepidatious
Three words to describe Newcastle United now?
Worrying transitional period
Three words to describe this summer 2026 NUFC transfer window so far?
Not enough; inexperienced
Do you see it as good news or bad news that Eddie Howe resigned?
I’m not sure I can be definitive here. Given how downtrodden Howe seemed and some of the poor game management that blighted last season it feels like the time was right for a parting of ways. An alternative view is we have lost a very capable manager who achieved magnificent things here. If part of the reason for him leaving is that he felt the club wasn’t committed to grow after the platform he’d given them, it could be a terrifying indication of where we’re heading.
Overall I’ll say the time was right for Howe and NUFC.
Do you think Newcastle United would have had more or less chance of having a successful 2026/27 season if Eddie Howe had stayed?
I think less. Some of the toxicity in the support would have cranked up the pressure straight away and I’m not sure Eddie had it in him to drive another total rebuild. Jaissle will at least get the benefit of patience and some understanding given the depleted squad he needs to get firing. I’m not guaranteeing we won’t have a disruptive managerial change but it’s less likely.
You can follow the author on BlueSky @bigjimwinsalot.bsky.social
Newcastle United fans preparing for the 2026/27 Premier League season.
Less than two weeks to go now until Liverpool travel to St James’ Park.
An ‘interesting’ summer so far…
So many talking points.
An ideal time to get a snapshot of views from Newcastle United fans on their thoughts.
So we sent out questions to a number of regular/irregular contributors to The Mag, varying to a degree the questions that different fans received to answer.
Next up answering the questions we have Jamie Smith:
Hand on heart, what position do you currently believe Newcastle United are most likely to finish in the 2026/27 Premier League season?
It’s very hard to predict given the extent of the unknown. But as things stand, on the evidence of pre-season and the last campaign I’m going to say bottom half, maybe 14th or so.
If Eddie Howe had stayed would your 2026/27 prediction have been different (up or down…)?
I’d have probably said the same, there is enough talent there to garner some points, but the level of inexperience will cost us. The main difference is if Jaissle reinvigorates and revolutionises the squad there’s maybe potential for surprising performances that I wouldn’t have seen as likely under Howe.
Do you see a potential lack of leadership on the pitch next season with Bruno Guimaraes following Kieran Trippier out of the club?
This is a massive concern. So many keyboard commentators out there clearly don’t get the mindset of playing competitive team sport. I totally understand the function of the leadership group in driving the squad togetherness and keeping a shared ethos, something that was evident in our success of recent years. Losing two crucial elements of that with no real obvious people to step up could be damaging for morale if things get tough. The attempt to sign Hojberg was, I think, with this in mind and I would welcome a similar signing of this ilk in the vein of bringing Trippier in a few years ago. Time is running out of course.
Who do you think would be best choice of NUFC captain?
It’s a choice of one: Dan Burn is the one remaining figurehead at the club and his role in the squad will be essential. Botman’s awful pre-season suggests BDB starts the season but at 34 years old he can’t be starting every game. No one wants to see him at left back so to properly rotate the centre half group we need another leader on the pitch.
No one is standing out here – Miley is a future captain but doesn’t fit that bill yet, Joelinton is a loose cannon and another who shouldn’t be there every week and Murphy’s starts should be few and far between. Like I’ve said, a signing is needed who can settle in while Burn takes the lead but is ready to step up whenever he drops out.
The opening six league games are Liverpool home, Spurs away, Bournemouth home, Leeds away, Hull home and Coventry away. How many points would Newcastle need to take for you to be happy and what would you predict will be the reality?
I think you need at least 10 from a fairly benign run of matches. I am extremely worried that the opening two fixtures could be disastrous and set the wrong tone, so I’ll predict a reality of 8 points.
What do you see as the biggest priorities in the remainder of the transfer market this summer?
Full back cover which may be sorted with Benfica’s Dedic, then an adequate experienced midfielder. The quality of Bruno will not be replaceable but if we can get someone who passes forward and has a bit of a figurehead stature that may be enough for the potential around them to spark off. I’d like an extra couple of players as well but these two at least might convince me a relegation battle can be avoided.
With so much change, how do you currently feel when it comes to balancing fears of the end of a relatively successful era and hopes of the dawning of the chance of a new successful different era? (So if you have 100% fears and 0% hopes that would be 100/0, if feeling 60% fear and 40% hope then 60/40)
This really got me thinking. I am going to go with 67/33. Some of the new talent is exciting and the new manager unknown so you’ve got to have some degree of hope. But there have been so many blows – the UEFA sanctions, the big sales, no real signs of arresting last season’s slide, the lack of any promise from the owners – that I’m two thirds pessimistic.
Anthony Gordon leaving, your thoughts?
A decent fee for a player that did a good job for us but blew hot and cold, especially last season. Done quickly with ample time to react and can’t begrudge the lad a move to Barcelona and I’ll think well of him in future should we ever see him at SJP again. He gave us some terrific moments during his time here.
Sandro Tonali leaving, your thoughts?
A terrific player but part of the problem last year. Did not step up in Bruno’s injury absence and contributed 0 in terms of league goal contributions. The fee is astronomical for a hard running midfielder who never really owned games and the wrong choice of destination I think. Tonali needs to be in a quality team where he can do what he’s good at while others make it happen. Spurs have a poor squad with some ongoing improvements but not enough for Tonali to thrive and he’s stuck there on a long term contract now.
I think his legacy here will be that he never massively seems to want to be here and left for a project that offered better money but not a glaringly obvious step up. Having said all that, I fully expect him to notch his first PL goal since Chelsea were veteran in May 2025 when I head to the Insert Naming Rights Here Stadium in a couple of weeks. Make no mistake, the big miss will be Bruno.
By say Christmas and with all players fit, what do you predict will be the Newcastle United first choice eleven for the 2026/27 season and please put ‘new signing’ in any position where you think that will turn out to be the case.
Hornicek; Livramento, Hall, Burn, Thiaw; Steur, New signing, Bamba; Barnes, Wissa, Elanga.
There are a few punts in there and I look forward to being laughed at when this is reviewed after the Boxing Day game.
What would represent success now in the 2026/27 season for Newcastle United?
Success per se would be qualification for any sort of Europe. I’m sticking with that for now but I don’t blame any of my peers who would answer this with simply staying in the Premier League, navigating the UEFA punishment and living to fight another day.
What do you now see as the minimum Newcastle United need to achieve this coming season?
Said erstwhile aforementioned stopping up. It shouldn’t even be a consideration after the years we’ve had but 17th is yery bottom line and no mistake.
Predict the top six in the Premier League (in order) and which three clubs will be relegated in 2026/27.
Arsenal look likely to retain their title as the only side without major transition. Chelsea are a bin fire but Alonso has done great things so far in management so I’m putting them second just based on him. Man City’s squad is too expensive to not come third at least, even if Maresca needs time.
I suspect Villa can’t continue defying the odds so I’ll go with the usual suspects as follows: Spurs, Liverpool Man Utd. I think the latter two will endure poor seasons but still get in amongst the CL/Europa places. There’s an opportunity here for someone to interloper on that top six given the amount of transition but everyone else is just too far off. I’ll throw in Forest as dark horses.
Relegation – Hull are terribly under equipped and will come bottom. I have a suspicion Fulham are due a fall off post-Silva. One of Sunderland/Bournemouth/Brighton will get an almighty shock at how difficult juggling Europe is and be right in there, but it’s likely to be another promoted team goes down. I’ll say Ipswich after McKenna’s leaving has removed their consistency.
Which eight current Newcastle United players (in order) are going to be most important for the 2026/27 season?
Hornicek needs to adapt quick and be as good as his predecessors from his neck of the woods. Then Burn as leader, Hall to be as good as last time and stay fit and I’ll go with Wissa and Osula to score some goals and Bamba and Toure to settle into their roles in the squad. Finally, perhaps most importantly, if Sean Steur can settle and look as good as he has in pre-season flashes, he could be the absolute key. He’s eighth because that’s a big If.
Credit: Newcastle United FC
Some time ago Yasir Al-Rumayyan said the intention was to make Newcastle United number one in the world, how far along the road to that do you think we are?
We are better off than under Ashley and getting our name on a trophy has removed a significant blight on our name. A lot of credit for this goes to Eddie Howe and whoever ran the recruitment programme from 2022-24 and the magnificent progress since then is in danger of being eradicated as we are once more looking like a lower mid table Premier League participant.
We have increased revenue considerably despite the missed chances on big infrastructure so I’d say in comparison to where we were when taken over we are around 20-30% of the way further forward in being number one. This could be set for a regression in the next twelve months though.
NUFC CEO David Hopkinson said the intention is that by 2030 the club will be competing to win all competitions. What do you make of what he said?
I sort of liked the bolshiness of it all but the more that happens the more ridiculous it seems. For me that suggests we’d need to be seriously challenging to win the Premier League within 3 years and where we are now it feels like if we’re hoisting a League title trophy any time soon it will be the Championship. Maybe he’s got something up his sleeve but I wonder if he regrets saying this already?
How important (or not) is a huge new stadium for Newcastle United?
If you’re serious about the huge ambition, it’s vital. Even an announcement of intention would be a start.
When the takeover happened on 7 October 2021, if somebody at that point had told you then what would happen by August 2026, would you have taken it?
Oh yeah. I wrote a bit last year saying that the best football experiences of my life have been in this period, some of the games, the trips and the general feeling. I was resigned to never attending another Champions League game (maybe even European) and I’d all but given up on somehow fluking a trophy. The League Cup win was the bucket list item I had no control over and the day at Wembley, subsequent celebrations and the parade were life memories for me and the city. My current despondency is borne out of fear of losing all that, but I’m grateful it happened and I’ll always remember that when it comes to those who I credit with making it happen.
Did England have a successful 2026 World Cup finals?
Yes. Not seeing out the lead against Argentina was a failure but you can’t argue with third.
What thoughts do you have on the 2026 World Cup finals overall?
I enjoy the World Cup and its constant stream of matches, and England doing well always helps. However, the naked corruption and Americanisation was ruinous for me, not least because it’s indicative of how football is headed. The ultra greed allowing only a few big organisations to thrive strangles the multi club competitiveness that European football has always thrived on and this example of everything being run as a business where the rich get richer leaves a foul taste, all against the backdrop of Newcastle (and Villa) being forced to sell our best players to the biggest “franchises”. The further the game moves towards the USA the more it dies.
Bruno Guimaraes wanting to leave Newcastle United after four and a half years, has that changed your opinion of him as a person?
I’ve written a full bit saying that Bruno has been magnificent for us and given the unfulfilled potential here no one can begrudge him seeking success and riches elsewhere. The choice of destination rankles but I am certain he’ll be remembered warmly (even if he does get a torrid time when he turns up here in their shirt, which I thoroughly endorse btw). It can be true that he loved the club and area here and still sees it as not aligning with his ambitions. It hurts to see him in that Arsenal shirt in a way that hasn’t hit with the other high profile departures and I would have loved him to give us that extra year to help stabilise. But I get it.
Claimed back in October 2021 that Newcastle United was simply a ‘Sportswashing’ project for Saudi Arabia, has that proved to be the reality?
No, it never was that imo. I think they looked at the financials and wanted to be involved in the Premier League and didn’t expect it to be a means of improving their reputation, or possibly care either way. It’s not often something occurs at NUFC without some kind of media response highlighting Saudi atrocities so if there was any intent in this direction it’s not worked.
Do you think the Newcastle United owners have a strong long-term plan for the club, or are they making it up as they go along?
Long term straw man plan of build it up and make a return. The detailed plan is absolutely made up as we go along by the revolving door of senior staff.
What do you think of the choice of Matthias Jaissle as the new NUFC boss?
The whole thing about some fans screaming for Howe out was always questionable in that some certain seemed to have a belief we could attract an ‘elite’ manager, which is someone they know from playing FIFA or watching YouTube that was never realistically going to entertain a club with very real SCR restrictions. As a young manager with grit in his eye who has achieved big things elsewhere, Jaissle is the exact profile we need. Now he needs the tools to work with and everyone should be entirely behind him in the long slog.
Three words to describe how you currently feel as a Newcastle United fan?
Deflated, uncertain and trepidatious
Three words to describe Newcastle United now?
Worrying transitional period
Three words to describe this summer 2026 NUFC transfer window so far?
Not enough; inexperienced
Do you see it as good news or bad news that Eddie Howe resigned?
I’m not sure I can be definitive here. Given how downtrodden Howe seemed and some of the poor game management that blighted last season it feels like the time was right for a parting of ways. An alternative view is we have lost a very capable manager who achieved magnificent things here. If part of the reason for him leaving is that he felt the club wasn’t committed to grow after the platform he’d given them, it could be a terrifying indication of where we’re heading.
Overall I’ll say the time was right for Howe and NUFC.
Do you think Newcastle United would have had more or less chance of having a successful 2026/27 season if Eddie Howe had stayed?
I think less. Some of the toxicity in the support would have cranked up the pressure straight away and I’m not sure Eddie had it in him to drive another total rebuild. Jaissle will at least get the benefit of patience and some understanding given the depleted squad he needs to get firing. I’m not guaranteeing we won’t have a disruptive managerial change but it’s less likely.
You can follow the author on BlueSky @bigjimwinsalot.bsky.social
Newcastle United fans preparing for the 2026/27 Premier League season.
Less than two weeks to go now until Liverpool travel to St James’ Park.
An ‘interesting’ summer so far…
So many talking points.
An ideal time to get a snapshot of views from Newcastle United fans on their thoughts.
So we sent out questions to a number of regular/irregular contributors to The Mag, varying to a degree the questions that different fans received to answer.
Next up answering the questions we have Jamie Smith:
Hand on heart, what position do you currently believe Newcastle United are most likely to finish in the 2026/27 Premier League season?
It’s very hard to predict given the extent of the unknown. But as things stand, on the evidence of pre-season and the last campaign I’m going to say bottom half, maybe 14th or so.
If Eddie Howe had stayed would your 2026/27 prediction have been different (up or down…)?
I’d have probably said the same, there is enough talent there to garner some points, but the level of inexperience will cost us. The main difference is if Jaissle reinvigorates and revolutionises the squad there’s maybe potential for surprising performances that I wouldn’t have seen as likely under Howe.
Do you see a potential lack of leadership on the pitch next season with Bruno Guimaraes following Kieran Trippier out of the club?
This is a massive concern. So many keyboard commentators out there clearly don’t get the mindset of playing competitive team sport. I totally understand the function of the leadership group in driving the squad togetherness and keeping a shared ethos, something that was evident in our success of recent years. Losing two crucial elements of that with no real obvious people to step up could be damaging for morale if things get tough. The attempt to sign Hojberg was, I think, with this in mind and I would welcome a similar signing of this ilk in the vein of bringing Trippier in a few years ago. Time is running out of course.
Who do you think would be best choice of NUFC captain?
It’s a choice of one: Dan Burn is the one remaining figurehead at the club and his role in the squad will be essential. Botman’s awful pre-season suggests BDB starts the season but at 34 years old he can’t be starting every game. No one wants to see him at left back so to properly rotate the centre half group we need another leader on the pitch.
No one is standing out here – Miley is a future captain but doesn’t fit that bill yet, Joelinton is a loose cannon and another who shouldn’t be there every week and Murphy’s starts should be few and far between. Like I’ve said, a signing is needed who can settle in while Burn takes the lead but is ready to step up whenever he drops out.
The opening six league games are Liverpool home, Spurs away, Bournemouth home, Leeds away, Hull home and Coventry away. How many points would Newcastle need to take for you to be happy and what would you predict will be the reality?
I think you need at least 10 from a fairly benign run of matches. I am extremely worried that the opening two fixtures could be disastrous and set the wrong tone, so I’ll predict a reality of 8 points.
What do you see as the biggest priorities in the remainder of the transfer market this summer?
Full back cover which may be sorted with Benfica’s Dedic, then an adequate experienced midfielder. The quality of Bruno will not be replaceable but if we can get someone who passes forward and has a bit of a figurehead stature that may be enough for the potential around them to spark off. I’d like an extra couple of players as well but these two at least might convince me a relegation battle can be avoided.
With so much change, how do you currently feel when it comes to balancing fears of the end of a relatively successful era and hopes of the dawning of the chance of a new successful different era? (So if you have 100% fears and 0% hopes that would be 100/0, if feeling 60% fear and 40% hope then 60/40)
This really got me thinking. I am going to go with 67/33. Some of the new talent is exciting and the new manager unknown so you’ve got to have some degree of hope. But there have been so many blows – the UEFA sanctions, the big sales, no real signs of arresting last season’s slide, the lack of any promise from the owners – that I’m two thirds pessimistic.
Anthony Gordon leaving, your thoughts?
A decent fee for a player that did a good job for us but blew hot and cold, especially last season. Done quickly with ample time to react and can’t begrudge the lad a move to Barcelona and I’ll think well of him in future should we ever see him at SJP again. He gave us some terrific moments during his time here.
Sandro Tonali leaving, your thoughts?
A terrific player but part of the problem last year. Did not step up in Bruno’s injury absence and contributed 0 in terms of league goal contributions. The fee is astronomical for a hard running midfielder who never really owned games and the wrong choice of destination I think. Tonali needs to be in a quality team where he can do what he’s good at while others make it happen. Spurs have a poor squad with some ongoing improvements but not enough for Tonali to thrive and he’s stuck there on a long term contract now.
I think his legacy here will be that he never massively seems to want to be here and left for a project that offered better money but not a glaringly obvious step up. Having said all that, I fully expect him to notch his first PL goal since Chelsea were veteran in May 2025 when I head to the Insert Naming Rights Here Stadium in a couple of weeks. Make no mistake, the big miss will be Bruno.
By say Christmas and with all players fit, what do you predict will be the Newcastle United first choice eleven for the 2026/27 season and please put ‘new signing’ in any position where you think that will turn out to be the case.
Hornicek; Livramento, Hall, Burn, Thiaw; Steur, New signing, Bamba; Barnes, Wissa, Elanga.
There are a few punts in there and I look forward to being laughed at when this is reviewed after the Boxing Day game.
What would represent success now in the 2026/27 season for Newcastle United?
Success per se would be qualification for any sort of Europe. I’m sticking with that for now but I don’t blame any of my peers who would answer this with simply staying in the Premier League, navigating the UEFA punishment and living to fight another day.
What do you now see as the minimum Newcastle United need to achieve this coming season?
Said erstwhile aforementioned stopping up. It shouldn’t even be a consideration after the years we’ve had but 17th is yery bottom line and no mistake.
Predict the top six in the Premier League (in order) and which three clubs will be relegated in 2026/27.
Arsenal look likely to retain their title as the only side without major transition. Chelsea are a bin fire but Alonso has done great things so far in management so I’m putting them second just based on him. Man City’s squad is too expensive to not come third at least, even if Maresca needs time.
I suspect Villa can’t continue defying the odds so I’ll go with the usual suspects as follows: Spurs, Liverpool Man Utd. I think the latter two will endure poor seasons but still get in amongst the CL/Europa places. There’s an opportunity here for someone to interloper on that top six given the amount of transition but everyone else is just too far off. I’ll throw in Forest as dark horses.
Relegation – Hull are terribly under equipped and will come bottom. I have a suspicion Fulham are due a fall off post-Silva. One of Sunderland/Bournemouth/Brighton will get an almighty shock at how difficult juggling Europe is and be right in there, but it’s likely to be another promoted team goes down. I’ll say Ipswich after McKenna’s leaving has removed their consistency.
Which eight current Newcastle United players (in order) are going to be most important for the 2026/27 season?
Hornicek needs to adapt quick and be as good as his predecessors from his neck of the woods. Then Burn as leader, Hall to be as good as last time and stay fit and I’ll go with Wissa and Osula to score some goals and Bamba and Toure to settle into their roles in the squad. Finally, perhaps most importantly, if Sean Steur can settle and look as good as he has in pre-season flashes, he could be the absolute key. He’s eighth because that’s a big If.
Credit: Newcastle United FC
Some time ago Yasir Al-Rumayyan said the intention was to make Newcastle United number one in the world, how far along the road to that do you think we are?
We are better off than under Ashley and getting our name on a trophy has removed a significant blight on our name. A lot of credit for this goes to Eddie Howe and whoever ran the recruitment programme from 2022-24 and the magnificent progress since then is in danger of being eradicated as we are once more looking like a lower mid table Premier League participant.
We have increased revenue considerably despite the missed chances on big infrastructure so I’d say in comparison to where we were when taken over we are around 20-30% of the way further forward in being number one. This could be set for a regression in the next twelve months though.
NUFC CEO David Hopkinson said the intention is that by 2030 the club will be competing to win all competitions. What do you make of what he said?
I sort of liked the bolshiness of it all but the more that happens the more ridiculous it seems. For me that suggests we’d need to be seriously challenging to win the Premier League within 3 years and where we are now it feels like if we’re hoisting a League title trophy any time soon it will be the Championship. Maybe he’s got something up his sleeve but I wonder if he regrets saying this already?
How important (or not) is a huge new stadium for Newcastle United?
If you’re serious about the huge ambition, it’s vital. Even an announcement of intention would be a start.
When the takeover happened on 7 October 2021, if somebody at that point had told you then what would happen by August 2026, would you have taken it?
Oh yeah. I wrote a bit last year saying that the best football experiences of my life have been in this period, some of the games, the trips and the general feeling. I was resigned to never attending another Champions League game (maybe even European) and I’d all but given up on somehow fluking a trophy. The League Cup win was the bucket list item I had no control over and the day at Wembley, subsequent celebrations and the parade were life memories for me and the city. My current despondency is borne out of fear of losing all that, but I’m grateful it happened and I’ll always remember that when it comes to those who I credit with making it happen.
Did England have a successful 2026 World Cup finals?
Yes. Not seeing out the lead against Argentina was a failure but you can’t argue with third.
What thoughts do you have on the 2026 World Cup finals overall?
I enjoy the World Cup and its constant stream of matches, and England doing well always helps. However, the naked corruption and Americanisation was ruinous for me, not least because it’s indicative of how football is headed. The ultra greed allowing only a few big organisations to thrive strangles the multi club competitiveness that European football has always thrived on and this example of everything being run as a business where the rich get richer leaves a foul taste, all against the backdrop of Newcastle (and Villa) being forced to sell our best players to the biggest “franchises”. The further the game moves towards the USA the more it dies.
Bruno Guimaraes wanting to leave Newcastle United after four and a half years, has that changed your opinion of him as a person?
I’ve written a full bit saying that Bruno has been magnificent for us and given the unfulfilled potential here no one can begrudge him seeking success and riches elsewhere. The choice of destination rankles but I am certain he’ll be remembered warmly (even if he does get a torrid time when he turns up here in their shirt, which I thoroughly endorse btw). It can be true that he loved the club and area here and still sees it as not aligning with his ambitions. It hurts to see him in that Arsenal shirt in a way that hasn’t hit with the other high profile departures and I would have loved him to give us that extra year to help stabilise. But I get it.
Claimed back in October 2021 that Newcastle United was simply a ‘Sportswashing’ project for Saudi Arabia, has that proved to be the reality?
No, it never was that imo. I think they looked at the financials and wanted to be involved in the Premier League and didn’t expect it to be a means of improving their reputation, or possibly care either way. It’s not often something occurs at NUFC without some kind of media response highlighting Saudi atrocities so if there was any intent in this direction it’s not worked.
Do you think the Newcastle United owners have a strong long-term plan for the club, or are they making it up as they go along?
Long term straw man plan of build it up and make a return. The detailed plan is absolutely made up as we go along by the revolving door of senior staff.
What do you think of the choice of Matthias Jaissle as the new NUFC boss?
The whole thing about some fans screaming for Howe out was always questionable in that some certain seemed to have a belief we could attract an ‘elite’ manager, which is someone they know from playing FIFA or watching YouTube that was never realistically going to entertain a club with very real SCR restrictions. As a young manager with grit in his eye who has achieved big things elsewhere, Jaissle is the exact profile we need. Now he needs the tools to work with and everyone should be entirely behind him in the long slog.
Three words to describe how you currently feel as a Newcastle United fan?
Deflated, uncertain and trepidatious
Three words to describe Newcastle United now?
Worrying transitional period
Three words to describe this summer 2026 NUFC transfer window so far?
Not enough; inexperienced
Do you see it as good news or bad news that Eddie Howe resigned?
I’m not sure I can be definitive here. Given how downtrodden Howe seemed and some of the poor game management that blighted last season it feels like the time was right for a parting of ways. An alternative view is we have lost a very capable manager who achieved magnificent things here. If part of the reason for him leaving is that he felt the club wasn’t committed to grow after the platform he’d given them, it could be a terrifying indication of where we’re heading.
Overall I’ll say the time was right for Howe and NUFC.
Do you think Newcastle United would have had more or less chance of having a successful 2026/27 season if Eddie Howe had stayed?
I think less. Some of the toxicity in the support would have cranked up the pressure straight away and I’m not sure Eddie had it in him to drive another total rebuild. Jaissle will at least get the benefit of patience and some understanding given the depleted squad he needs to get firing. I’m not guaranteeing we won’t have a disruptive managerial change but it’s less likely.
You can follow the author on BlueSky @bigjimwinsalot.bsky.social
Newcastle United fans preparing for the 2026/27 Premier League season.
Less than two weeks to go now until Liverpool travel to St James’ Park.
An ‘interesting’ summer so far…
So many talking points.
An ideal time to get a snapshot of views from Newcastle United fans on their thoughts.
So we sent out questions to a number of regular/irregular contributors to The Mag, varying to a degree the questions that different fans received to answer.
Next up answering the questions we have Jamie Smith:
Hand on heart, what position do you currently believe Newcastle United are most likely to finish in the 2026/27 Premier League season?
It’s very hard to predict given the extent of the unknown. But as things stand, on the evidence of pre-season and the last campaign I’m going to say bottom half, maybe 14th or so.
If Eddie Howe had stayed would your 2026/27 prediction have been different (up or down…)?
I’d have probably said the same, there is enough talent there to garner some points, but the level of inexperience will cost us. The main difference is if Jaissle reinvigorates and revolutionises the squad there’s maybe potential for surprising performances that I wouldn’t have seen as likely under Howe.
Do you see a potential lack of leadership on the pitch next season with Bruno Guimaraes following Kieran Trippier out of the club?
This is a massive concern. So many keyboard commentators out there clearly don’t get the mindset of playing competitive team sport. I totally understand the function of the leadership group in driving the squad togetherness and keeping a shared ethos, something that was evident in our success of recent years. Losing two crucial elements of that with no real obvious people to step up could be damaging for morale if things get tough. The attempt to sign Hojberg was, I think, with this in mind and I would welcome a similar signing of this ilk in the vein of bringing Trippier in a few years ago. Time is running out of course.
Who do you think would be best choice of NUFC captain?
It’s a choice of one: Dan Burn is the one remaining figurehead at the club and his role in the squad will be essential. Botman’s awful pre-season suggests BDB starts the season but at 34 years old he can’t be starting every game. No one wants to see him at left back so to properly rotate the centre half group we need another leader on the pitch.
No one is standing out here – Miley is a future captain but doesn’t fit that bill yet, Joelinton is a loose cannon and another who shouldn’t be there every week and Murphy’s starts should be few and far between. Like I’ve said, a signing is needed who can settle in while Burn takes the lead but is ready to step up whenever he drops out.
The opening six league games are Liverpool home, Spurs away, Bournemouth home, Leeds away, Hull home and Coventry away. How many points would Newcastle need to take for you to be happy and what would you predict will be the reality?
I think you need at least 10 from a fairly benign run of matches. I am extremely worried that the opening two fixtures could be disastrous and set the wrong tone, so I’ll predict a reality of 8 points.
What do you see as the biggest priorities in the remainder of the transfer market this summer?
Full back cover which may be sorted with Benfica’s Dedic, then an adequate experienced midfielder. The quality of Bruno will not be replaceable but if we can get someone who passes forward and has a bit of a figurehead stature that may be enough for the potential around them to spark off. I’d like an extra couple of players as well but these two at least might convince me a relegation battle can be avoided.
With so much change, how do you currently feel when it comes to balancing fears of the end of a relatively successful era and hopes of the dawning of the chance of a new successful different era? (So if you have 100% fears and 0% hopes that would be 100/0, if feeling 60% fear and 40% hope then 60/40)
This really got me thinking. I am going to go with 67/33. Some of the new talent is exciting and the new manager unknown so you’ve got to have some degree of hope. But there have been so many blows – the UEFA sanctions, the big sales, no real signs of arresting last season’s slide, the lack of any promise from the owners – that I’m two thirds pessimistic.
Anthony Gordon leaving, your thoughts?
A decent fee for a player that did a good job for us but blew hot and cold, especially last season. Done quickly with ample time to react and can’t begrudge the lad a move to Barcelona and I’ll think well of him in future should we ever see him at SJP again. He gave us some terrific moments during his time here.
Sandro Tonali leaving, your thoughts?
A terrific player but part of the problem last year. Did not step up in Bruno’s injury absence and contributed 0 in terms of league goal contributions. The fee is astronomical for a hard running midfielder who never really owned games and the wrong choice of destination I think. Tonali needs to be in a quality team where he can do what he’s good at while others make it happen. Spurs have a poor squad with some ongoing improvements but not enough for Tonali to thrive and he’s stuck there on a long term contract now.
I think his legacy here will be that he never massively seems to want to be here and left for a project that offered better money but not a glaringly obvious step up. Having said all that, I fully expect him to notch his first PL goal since Chelsea were veteran in May 2025 when I head to the Insert Naming Rights Here Stadium in a couple of weeks. Make no mistake, the big miss will be Bruno.
By say Christmas and with all players fit, what do you predict will be the Newcastle United first choice eleven for the 2026/27 season and please put ‘new signing’ in any position where you think that will turn out to be the case.
Hornicek; Livramento, Hall, Burn, Thiaw; Steur, New signing, Bamba; Barnes, Wissa, Elanga.
There are a few punts in there and I look forward to being laughed at when this is reviewed after the Boxing Day game.
What would represent success now in the 2026/27 season for Newcastle United?
Success per se would be qualification for any sort of Europe. I’m sticking with that for now but I don’t blame any of my peers who would answer this with simply staying in the Premier League, navigating the UEFA punishment and living to fight another day.
What do you now see as the minimum Newcastle United need to achieve this coming season?
Said erstwhile aforementioned stopping up. It shouldn’t even be a consideration after the years we’ve had but 17th is yery bottom line and no mistake.
Predict the top six in the Premier League (in order) and which three clubs will be relegated in 2026/27.
Arsenal look likely to retain their title as the only side without major transition. Chelsea are a bin fire but Alonso has done great things so far in management so I’m putting them second just based on him. Man City’s squad is too expensive to not come third at least, even if Maresca needs time.
I suspect Villa can’t continue defying the odds so I’ll go with the usual suspects as follows: Spurs, Liverpool Man Utd. I think the latter two will endure poor seasons but still get in amongst the CL/Europa places. There’s an opportunity here for someone to interloper on that top six given the amount of transition but everyone else is just too far off. I’ll throw in Forest as dark horses.
Relegation – Hull are terribly under equipped and will come bottom. I have a suspicion Fulham are due a fall off post-Silva. One of Sunderland/Bournemouth/Brighton will get an almighty shock at how difficult juggling Europe is and be right in there, but it’s likely to be another promoted team goes down. I’ll say Ipswich after McKenna’s leaving has removed their consistency.
Which eight current Newcastle United players (in order) are going to be most important for the 2026/27 season?
Hornicek needs to adapt quick and be as good as his predecessors from his neck of the woods. Then Burn as leader, Hall to be as good as last time and stay fit and I’ll go with Wissa and Osula to score some goals and Bamba and Toure to settle into their roles in the squad. Finally, perhaps most importantly, if Sean Steur can settle and look as good as he has in pre-season flashes, he could be the absolute key. He’s eighth because that’s a big If.
Credit: Newcastle United FC
Some time ago Yasir Al-Rumayyan said the intention was to make Newcastle United number one in the world, how far along the road to that do you think we are?
We are better off than under Ashley and getting our name on a trophy has removed a significant blight on our name. A lot of credit for this goes to Eddie Howe and whoever ran the recruitment programme from 2022-24 and the magnificent progress since then is in danger of being eradicated as we are once more looking like a lower mid table Premier League participant.
We have increased revenue considerably despite the missed chances on big infrastructure so I’d say in comparison to where we were when taken over we are around 20-30% of the way further forward in being number one. This could be set for a regression in the next twelve months though.
NUFC CEO David Hopkinson said the intention is that by 2030 the club will be competing to win all competitions. What do you make of what he said?
I sort of liked the bolshiness of it all but the more that happens the more ridiculous it seems. For me that suggests we’d need to be seriously challenging to win the Premier League within 3 years and where we are now it feels like if we’re hoisting a League title trophy any time soon it will be the Championship. Maybe he’s got something up his sleeve but I wonder if he regrets saying this already?
How important (or not) is a huge new stadium for Newcastle United?
If you’re serious about the huge ambition, it’s vital. Even an announcement of intention would be a start.
When the takeover happened on 7 October 2021, if somebody at that point had told you then what would happen by August 2026, would you have taken it?
Oh yeah. I wrote a bit last year saying that the best football experiences of my life have been in this period, some of the games, the trips and the general feeling. I was resigned to never attending another Champions League game (maybe even European) and I’d all but given up on somehow fluking a trophy. The League Cup win was the bucket list item I had no control over and the day at Wembley, subsequent celebrations and the parade were life memories for me and the city. My current despondency is borne out of fear of losing all that, but I’m grateful it happened and I’ll always remember that when it comes to those who I credit with making it happen.
Did England have a successful 2026 World Cup finals?
Yes. Not seeing out the lead against Argentina was a failure but you can’t argue with third.
What thoughts do you have on the 2026 World Cup finals overall?
I enjoy the World Cup and its constant stream of matches, and England doing well always helps. However, the naked corruption and Americanisation was ruinous for me, not least because it’s indicative of how football is headed. The ultra greed allowing only a few big organisations to thrive strangles the multi club competitiveness that European football has always thrived on and this example of everything being run as a business where the rich get richer leaves a foul taste, all against the backdrop of Newcastle (and Villa) being forced to sell our best players to the biggest “franchises”. The further the game moves towards the USA the more it dies.
Bruno Guimaraes wanting to leave Newcastle United after four and a half years, has that changed your opinion of him as a person?
I’ve written a full bit saying that Bruno has been magnificent for us and given the unfulfilled potential here no one can begrudge him seeking success and riches elsewhere. The choice of destination rankles but I am certain he’ll be remembered warmly (even if he does get a torrid time when he turns up here in their shirt, which I thoroughly endorse btw). It can be true that he loved the club and area here and still sees it as not aligning with his ambitions. It hurts to see him in that Arsenal shirt in a way that hasn’t hit with the other high profile departures and I would have loved him to give us that extra year to help stabilise. But I get it.
Claimed back in October 2021 that Newcastle United was simply a ‘Sportswashing’ project for Saudi Arabia, has that proved to be the reality?
No, it never was that imo. I think they looked at the financials and wanted to be involved in the Premier League and didn’t expect it to be a means of improving their reputation, or possibly care either way. It’s not often something occurs at NUFC without some kind of media response highlighting Saudi atrocities so if there was any intent in this direction it’s not worked.
Do you think the Newcastle United owners have a strong long-term plan for the club, or are they making it up as they go along?
Long term straw man plan of build it up and make a return. The detailed plan is absolutely made up as we go along by the revolving door of senior staff.
What do you think of the choice of Matthias Jaissle as the new NUFC boss?
The whole thing about some fans screaming for Howe out was always questionable in that some certain seemed to have a belief we could attract an ‘elite’ manager, which is someone they know from playing FIFA or watching YouTube that was never realistically going to entertain a club with very real SCR restrictions. As a young manager with grit in his eye who has achieved big things elsewhere, Jaissle is the exact profile we need. Now he needs the tools to work with and everyone should be entirely behind him in the long slog.
Three words to describe how you currently feel as a Newcastle United fan?
Deflated, uncertain and trepidatious
Three words to describe Newcastle United now?
Worrying transitional period
Three words to describe this summer 2026 NUFC transfer window so far?
Not enough; inexperienced
Do you see it as good news or bad news that Eddie Howe resigned?
I’m not sure I can be definitive here. Given how downtrodden Howe seemed and some of the poor game management that blighted last season it feels like the time was right for a parting of ways. An alternative view is we have lost a very capable manager who achieved magnificent things here. If part of the reason for him leaving is that he felt the club wasn’t committed to grow after the platform he’d given them, it could be a terrifying indication of where we’re heading.
Overall I’ll say the time was right for Howe and NUFC.
Do you think Newcastle United would have had more or less chance of having a successful 2026/27 season if Eddie Howe had stayed?
I think less. Some of the toxicity in the support would have cranked up the pressure straight away and I’m not sure Eddie had it in him to drive another total rebuild. Jaissle will at least get the benefit of patience and some understanding given the depleted squad he needs to get firing. I’m not guaranteeing we won’t have a disruptive managerial change but it’s less likely.
You can follow the author on BlueSky @bigjimwinsalot.bsky.social
