Newcastle United are 10th in the 20-team Premier League. For many other clubs in many other seasons, that would represent one giant, “meh” — the very definition of mid-table mediocrity.
Not for head coach Eddie Howe and his team, however. Their 2023-24 has been a compilation of soaring highs and crushing lows, with misfortune a constant companion, often at Newcastle’s invitation.
After two difficult transfer windows, after finding themselves constricted by the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR), after battling against a sapping list of injuries, Sandro Tonali’s long suspension, and with Dan Ashworth, their sporting director, heading to Manchester United, it feels like they are approaching a crossroads, on and off the pitch.
The loss at Chelsea on Monday was deflating and familiar. Last season’s team of front-footed swarmers are routinely making life difficult for themselves and easy for their opponents.
Before Saturday’s daunting trip to Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals — Newcastle’s final tilt at winning silverware this season (for the men’s team, anyway) — The Athletic’s Chris Waugh and George Caulkin assess what has gone wrong since the summer, where things stand and what they expect from the final two months of the…
