Newcastle United fans preparing for the 2026/27 Premier League season.
Less than three 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 some questions is Matt Busby said to Joe Harvey…:
Three words to describe how you currently feel as a Newcastle United fan?
Hopeful, Optimistic, Excited
Three words to describe Newcastle United now?
Brand New Dawn
Do you see it as good news or bad news that Eddie Howe resigned?
Look, the man walks on water for what he has achieved but the conditions that led to what he achieved have changed. And for that reason, he didn’t want to be here any longer. So in the circumstances, it’s got to be a good thing he’s departed, hasn’t it?
Hand on heart, what position do you currently believe Newcastle United are most likely to finish in the 2026/27 Premier League season?
Without the distraction of Europe, we have got to be aiming for a European spot surely?
If Eddie Howe had stayed would your 2026/27 prediction have been different (up or down…)?
I think I’ve been persuaded that he wasn’t up for re-inventing the side so I’d probably suggest we wouldn’t finish any higher.
If Bruno leaves, who do you think would be best choice of NUFC captain?
I’d consider giving it to Lewis Hall, assuming he’s not bound for pastures new as well. The guy seems as smart off the park as he does on it and I reckon there’s a proper leader in there.
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?
Despite two bogey teams visiting St James’ Park early doors , I think we can win all three home games. I’d also fancy us to pick up another four points from the away trips, so that’s 13 from 18, and I’d be very content with that.
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)
I reckon 35:65 is my ratio. In other words, whilst I think there’s a 1 in 3 chance that we’ll blow up, I reckon there’s a 2 in 3 chance of us kicking on. As above, if we can plunder 13 points from our first 6 games, any fears I have will be consigned to the dustbin.
Anthony Gordon leaving, your thoughts?
I think he lost faith when we were seemingly prepared to offload him when we hit the PSR buffers in June 2024, and it seems to me that he became selfish and as a result, his form more erratic and the consistency we’d previously seen/expected disappeared somewhat.
Hearing him speak in Spanish when signing for Barcelona seemed to reinforce the fact that he was hell bent on leaving us for Iberia.
When the lad was on fire, he was great, and it might be that the £70 million the Catalans have paid is seen as a steal, but he had a tendency to lose his head when the stakes were high and the history books will show he wasn’t on the park when we lifted our first trophy in donkey’s years (despite his endeavour in both legs of the semi final).
Long winded way of me saying, I’m not too concerned that AG has left Newcastle United.
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
Botman
Thiaw
Bamba
New signing
Elanga
Woltemade
Wissa
Toure
What do you now see as the minimum Newcastle United need to achieve this coming season?
A European berth and a decent crack at one of the cups.
Predict the top six in the Premier League (in order) and which three clubs will be relegated in 2026/27.
1 Man City
2 Man Utd
3 Arsenal
4 Chelsea
5 Aston Villa
6 Newcastle United
18 Sunderland
19 Leeds
20 Hull City
Which eight current Newcastle United players (in order) are going to be most important for the 2026/27 season?
Hornicek, Hall, Livramento, Botman and Thiaw – basically, the whole of the defence
One of Osula, Woltemade or Wissa – basically anyone who is deployed to put the ball in the onion bag
Toure and New Signing – two of the new guys
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 still think of that ham and egg lawyer, Saul Goodman, played so well by Bob Odenkirk in ‘Better call Saul’, when I see footage of Hopkinson, so cannot take him too seriously.
That said, 2030 is still four years away and the summer clear out, both on the park and in the dugout, together with Ross Wilson seemingly wielding more power is a statement of sorts.
Let’s see what 2026/27 brings first though…..
How would you rate your optimism for next season at Newcastle United from 0-100?
65 – more positive than negative, with those first six games being a helpful barometer
How important (or not) is a huge new stadium for Newcastle United?
Not sure what is meant by huge? I’m assuming 80,000 although I think 65,000 to 70,000 would suffice.
I think it is very important, for three reasons….
First, so we can both generate more cash for investment in the squad (I’m thinking rock concerts and other non-football events as much as I am extra gate receipts). Second, so those who are scrambling for tickets through the ballot system all have a better chance of seeing NUFC play at home. And third, to upgrade the pretty shambolic facilities that currently exist within the confines of SJP.
Whatever the capacity, a new stadium needs to be as close to the current site as possible. I think an out of town complex, however fancy, would rip the soul out of the matchday experience.
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?
Absolutely, 100 percent!
Does avoiding what looked like nailed on relegation, securing two Champions League berths, seeing talent like Bruno Guimarães strutting his stuff at St James Park, winning at the likes of the Emirates, Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge, nights under the lights like we had against PSG, Leicester, Southampton and Arsenal, two trips to Wembley and seeing Bruno, Kieran and Jamaal lifting that cup aloft in March 2025 explain my reasoning?
Did England have a successful 2026 World Cup finals?
I was so bored of the whole spectacle that by the time England exited in such a limp fashion, I wasn’t really bothered.
Some say finishing third is England’s best outcome at a World Cup since 1966, so relatively speaking, I suppose they did have a successful tournament.
Bruno Guimaraes wanting to leave Newcastle United after four and a half years, has that changed your opinion of him as a person?
Given most footballers have a tendency of saying anything to curry favour, I’ll give Bruno a pass when it comes to his previous proclamations expressing his commitment to the cause.
My question is, did he really want to leave?
On the one hand, he might be thinking there’s a greater chance of silverware in north London. On the other, it’s pretty obvious we’ve offloaded our top earners as well as generating some much needed revenue to help combat the problem of SCR.
Whatever the reason, he captained the club to its first silverware in decades, so he’s still up there for me and despite seeing him in the red of Arsenal will be a real sickener, I’ll give the lad a standing ovation on his return to St James.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see him and his old man attending Newcastle United away games in the future.
Claimed back in October 2021 that Newcastle United was simply a ‘Sportswashing‘ project for Saudi Arabia, has that proved to be the reality?
In my mind, I don’t think of the Saudis when watching Newcastle United and I’m pretty sure that’s the case for lots of non-NUFC football fans.
The Saudis have a much lower profile than their counterparts at Man City. Did they know much about PSR, FFP and SCR when they agreed to grease Ashley’s palm? I’m willing to wager they knew as much as I did and so it probably hasn’t been how they imagined it would be, despite the unprecedented success.
Maybe with Trump’s recent intervention in the middle east, they’ve got more to be concerned about than using Newcastle United as a vehicle to distract folk from their regime.
Who would you have liked to see replace Eddie Howe, Matthias Jaissle or somebody else?
Tommy Tuchel maybe, until his tactical masterclass against the Argentines?