Only five weeks remain in this Newcastle United season.
Just the five games left to play of the 2025/26 campaign.
Most Newcastle United fans happy if the final whistle on this season was blown now.
Which I am guessing is how Eddie Howe and the United squad are feeling as well.
It has been an intense eight months with 53 matches in total played, which will reach 58 on 24 May 2026 at Craven Cottage, the final game away at Fulham.
The narrative that gets endlessly repeated, is that this Newcastle United season had been a disaster.
It hasn’t, it has been a setback.
A setback that can be bounced back from.
Newcastle United have never been in relegation trouble this 2025/26 season the team accumulated 42 points across the opening 30 Premier League matches.
Newcastle United were one step from a third Wembley Cup Final in four seasons, only to lose in a Carabao Cup semi-final to the all conquering Manchester City who look set to win the domestic treble.
Newcastle United lost in the FA Cup fifth round to the all conquering Manchester City who look set to win the domestic treble.
Newcastle United reached the last 16 of the Champions League, more than a match for Barcelona for three halves of the tie that would decide which team went into the quarter-finals. United only lost three of their 12 Champions League matches and two of the three defeats were to Barca, who look nailed on to retain their La Liga title and have the second highest annual revenues in world football.
The Premier League campaign HAS been a major disappointment BUT not a disaster. A disaster is what Tottenham look set to face, relegation this season after having finishing fourth bottom last time.
Newcastle United have dropped from their usual top seven league placings under Eddie Howe, they will finish below the fifth place and 66 points achieved last season, that earned Champions League football.
Reality is though that this has been a 2025/26 season that has seen Newcastle United having to play more matches in all competitions than any other club in the major European leagues. Having to do that with far too small a squad that has then been impacted by numerous injuries. The Newcastle United owners overseeing a shambles of a summer 2025, completely mishandling the Alexander Isak situation and failing to sign Eddie Howe’s top targets. Indeed, only one of the eventual six summer 2025 signings arrived in time to have a pre-season with their new teammates.
Despite everything, Newcastle United have simply ended up as one of nine clubs divided by only six points with five games remaining nine clubs stretching from sixth to fourteenth.
Yes, Newcastle United are fourteenth, but even if just holding on to the leads against Sunderland and Palace, then keeping at least the draw they had against Bournemouth going into the last five minutes, then Eddie Howe and his team would now be sixth in the table. These are the kind of small margins that are set to divide who does and doesn’t get into the Europa League and Conference League.
Without those extra demands of the Champions League, I have zero doubt that Newcastle United would have then had at last 15 points more this season in the Premier League. That is the conundrum. Newcastle United would now be in a Champions League qualifying position if they hadn’t been competing in the…Champions League.