Such were the standards Newcastle United set last season, it’s been difficult to match them this time around.
The reasons for that are lengthy.
Indeed, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe is believed to be pointing towards the injury crisis and issues from last summer’s recruitment as reasons for their relative malaise this season.
It would have been hard for any team to follow what happened at St James’ Park last season.
Howe took this team from a low base and led them back into the Champions League as well as a first domestic cup final during his first full season in charge.
The second album is always the most difficult, after all.
In fact, Newcastle’s PIF owners are believed to be briefing that Howe is in fact ahead of schedule. While this season has been a reality check, phase two of the Saudi era was said to have been purely about consolidation.
One season is not the be all and end all, whether it had been a good or bad campaign.
It’s something Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has also picked up on.
Ange Postecoglou makes claim about Newcastle and the Champions League
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday, the Spurs boss was asked about how important it was for his team to qualify for the Champions League.
He was quizzed on whether or not the added revenue entry into Europe’s elite club competition grants would help Spurs, only for him to point out the financial limitations Newcastle are working under this season despite achieving that very feat last time out.
“Did it help them in a football sense?” he replied (via WeAreTottenhamTV on YouTube).
“We are not banks. We are football clubs. I don’t get measured by the balance sheet at the end of the year. You can see how difficult it is for a club to balance Champions League and [domestic football].
“To be fair to Eddie, he’s had horrendous injuries this year. It makes it hard. What I’m saying is Champions League, great. Money, great. Does that mean we’re going to finish third next year? No. In fact it’s probably going to be more challenging.”
Newcastle lived the dream – but it came at a cost
Postecoglou is right, qualifying for the Champions League did not help Newcastle in a football sense.
That magical night against Paris Saint-Germain aside, it added more games and increased the work load on the players, costing them their Premier League aspirations.
However, what he’s really getting at is the point that a football club can’t be defined by one season, with Leicester’s Premier League title win in 2016 perhaps being the exception.
Just because Newcastle qualified for the Champions League last season doesn’t mean they suddenly became a super club. Equally, just because they’ll miss out this time around doesn’t mean the PIF project has failed.
Perspective is required.
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