Next weekend Matthias Jaissle will lead his Newcastle United team into a first competitive match under his management.
Liverpool the visitors to St James’ Park for a 4.30pm kick-off on Sunday 23 August.
Ahead of that though we have the final pre-season friendlies.
This brings an extra complication that Matthias Jaissle could have done without.
Thrown in at the deep end, the new manager has had a couple of weeks to work with the players on the training pitch, plus two friendlies. A 2-1 win over Valencia and a 3-1 defeat to Everton.
Now Matthias Jaissle has one further week to work with the players and two friendlies.
The only problem is that these two friendlies are on consecutive days.
I have long since thought it was a bit daft this idea of a St James’ Park double header, a week before the season kicks off. Newcastle United have never had a large enough squad to put out two strong teams across a weekend.
It also prevents the manager putting out the team in a final friendly that he intends to play in the first Premier League match.
This was bad enough for Eddie Howe once he’d had the team and squad together for a year or two but now for a new manager like Matthias Jaissle and a squad further diminished in numbers (and quality, at least initially), it is a headache he doesn’t need.
Fans turning up on Saturday and Sunday will of course all be expecting to see a certain level of team on the pitch, so what can the new boss do?
On Wednesday, with only 11 days until the new season, Matthias Jaissle put out a team in the first half that many fans assumed was what he considered his strongest available:
Newcastle United (first half): Lukáš Horníček, Leo Shahar, Malick Thiaw, Sven Botman, Lewis Hall, Joelinton, Aladji Bamba, Bazoumana Touré, Anthony Elanga, Yoane Wissa, William Osula
Then after the break all ten outfield players were changed…
Newcastle United (second half): Lukáš Horníček, Mason Miley, Henry Johnson, Miodrag Pivas, Dylan Charlton, Sean Steur, Jacob Murphy, Joe Willock, Jacob Ramsey, Harvey Barnes, Nick Woltemade
Mark Gillespie, Aidan Harris, Rory Finneran and Sean Neave were unused subs.
For this weekend it is expected Dan Burn will make a playing return in one of the two friendlies but Tino Livramento won’t play. It remains to be seen if Ewen Jaouen, Lewis Miley and Fabian Schar are fit enough to be involved.
Interesting to see what Matthias Jaissle does against Bayer Leverkusen and Strasbourg, the squad evenly split over the two matches, or what looks his first team and then a much weakened side for the other?