Newcastle United players, staff and fans will need to keep their focus on 2019/20 before they can begin to dream about the future as takeover talks continue between the Premier League and prospective new owners.
The Saudi Arabian consortium has attracted plenty of negative headlines since they entered advanced talks with Mike Ashley over the purchase of the club, but all eyes must remain honed in on the final stretch of the current season.
Steve Bruce has guided his men to a steady 13th place that may satisfy Ashley’s need for Premier League survival, but won’t satiate the success-starved Geordies.
The Magpies will require a white-hot start in their remaining Premier League fixtures if they are to hoist themselves into top-half contention but simply seeing out the season in reasonable form may be enough to keep the peace of Tyneside until the takeover is resolved – one way or the other.
Check out your complete guide to Newcastle’s 2019/20 season ahead of the Premier League restart.
Newcastle in 2019/20
Position: 13th
Manager: Steve Bruce
Top scorer: Jonjo Shelvey (5 goals)
Most assists: Christian Atsu (3 assists)
Check out our full list of Newcastle fixtures 2019/20.
It’s hard to accurately gauge Newcastle’s success or failure this season. A dire start was neutralised by an excellent run up to the festive period. A wobbly Christmas hauled them back into danger, but a largely solid 2020 has put out the fires once again.
Newcastle fans demand progress, and on that front, they’ve failed, but another season of steady survival surely isn’t a tragic result given the fact that their two huge money signings have failed to hit the heights?
Miguel Almirón has steadily found his feet in the Premier League and while the stats don’t paint a pretty picture, his work rate has led to increased contributions, but the less said about the signing of £40 million man Joelinton the better.
He was the signing that needed to come off, and it really didn’t. The Brazilian youngster didn’t ask for that spectre, that pressure, that level of expectation hanging over him, but just one goal in 29 appearances has crippled his confidence and fans have turned.
Without a consistent goalscorer, the Magpies are bobbing down the Tyne without a sail. They can’t rely on their bizarrely prolific defenders to keep up their scoring rates, but they might need to if they’re to limp to the 2019/20 finish line.
Looking for all the remaining Premier League matches and how to watch them? Check out our Premier League fixtures guide.
from Radio Times https://ift.tt/3e27tJE
