We wanted to get an overview of how Newcastle United fans are feeling at the moment.
Thoughts on the 2025/26 season that has just concluded.
As one season ends though, thoughts immediately turn to what comes next, only 11 weeks to go until the 2026/27 Premier League kicks off.
An ideal time to get a snapshot of views from Newcastle United fans on their thoughts, with a busy summer ahead of us all.
So we sent out questions to a number of regular/irregular contributors to The Mag.
Next up answering the questions is GToon:
We are now coming up to five years since the Newcastle United owners bought the club from Mike Ashley. Are you now more or less (or the same) optimistic about where they will take the club compared to how you felt back in October 2021? How committed do you think the owners are now to NUFC? Yasir Al-Rumayyan said the intention was to make Newcastle number one in the world, CEO David Hopkinson says the intention is that by 20230 the club will be competing to win all competitions. What do you predict will be the reality in the next five years?
The lack of ground, new or improved SJP, is horrendous considering it’s been five years. That’s like running a corner shop with ASDA’s customer numbers and then wondering why profits haven’t increased. Build a bigger ground !!!!! How many times do we have to say it !!!! To be big you have to think big in every respect, then the next Anthony Gordon will maybe dream about playing in front of 80,000 Geordies instead.
How would you rate your optimism for next season at Newcastle United from 0-100?
25. I can’t see how a few weeks off can turn Eddie into the tactically astute manager we need, or the board replace the squad with the players he needs.
Three words to describe how you currently feel as a Newcastle United fan?
Deflated, curious, resigned
Last season was a hammer blow to our ambitions and we will still be feeling it this season. Losing to that lot twice yet again is as bad as being relegated to me. The curious part is can we turn this around? Have we learned from last season?
The resigned bit is that we probably can’t. I’ve seen it all before as they say…
Three words to describe Newcastle United now?
Crossroads, stalling, motionless
We are at a crossroads. I would be gutted if the powers that be expect a few weeks rest will solve our problems. And there are certainly problems. That was a record breaking season for all the wrong reasons. The momentum has stalled big time. If it wasn’t for Woltemade’s purple patch we might have been a lot closer to relegation than people think. Where’s the new ground? Where’s the new training centre? Where’s the new shirt sponsor? Where’s the off-field actions to take us to the next level?
Newcastle United fell from 5th to 12th in the Premier League, what percentage of the blame/responsibility would you attach to each of these?
Alexander Isak 5% but players come and go. We didn’t replace him.
Eddie Howe 50% awful tactics and reliance on underperforming players when other options were available. Totally devoid of tactical ability at times.
The players 25% some of them are simply not that good anymore
Newcastle United owners (not dealing properly with Isak situation, not having senior staff in place etc to help get summer 2025 transfers done etc) 20% they need to act faster and be more realistic when dealing with likes of Isak.
Bad luck and small margins 0% – we made our own luck.
What rating out of 10 would you give each of the permanent summer 2025 signings for their contributions across the 2025/26 season and what are your hopes/expectations (if any) for each of them next season at Newcastle United?
Anthony Elanga 2 Unfortunately another player who can run faster than he can think. I’m not joking here. He is just fast but can’t see the game or read positions or the best pass. He won’t change.
Jacob Ramsey 6 I like Ramsey. He’s a good player and will do well once he feels he’s earned his place. He has a good attitude and is technically very good.
Malick Thiaw 7 very good player who reads the game well. I think he will be excellent next season now he’s bedded in.
Yoane Wissa -5 (minus 5) What an absolute joke he is. He is pound for pound the worst signing the club have made for years. At that price I’d expect a player who can hit the target, link up play, close down defenders, but what we got was nothing. He would have got zero but his price and age and potential took him to minus 5.
Nick Woltemade 7 If it wasn’t for his goals Newcastle United could have been relegated. He’s an excellent footballer when he’s played in the right position. Anyone can see that, apart from Eddie Howe apparently. He could do well next year now he’s up to speed with the physical side of the game
What do you see as the biggest priorities in the transfer market this summer?
A new keeper is the top priority. Raya just won the league for Arsenal. Not their outfield players but their keeper. Pope and Ramsdale could not match him if they were both in goal at the same time.
Right back to replace injury prone Tino.
Left centre back as Botman is a lumbering oaf and a shadow of the player we bought.
New defensive midfielder to play alongside Tonali, or instead of him if he leaves.
Top class forward like Nunez or Vlahovic.
Decent right winger who can cross the ball.
Playmaker in midfield to take over from Bruno.
Was it the correct decision to sell Anthony Gordon and how do you think he should be judged on his time at Newcastle United (and do you think he will prove a success at Barcelona)?
I think it was right to sell him. It was his dream move. I’m happy for him. He’d done his bit for us. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like to see top players leave, but I also like to see our club help players on their journey. He was a very decent bloke off the pitch too, helping kids with problems. I wish him well and would love to see him return to SJP so the fans can thank him.
The Newcastle United owners refused to sell Alexander Isak across summer 2025, only to then do so on deadline day. If they had carried out their reported intention to make him stay and the window had closed with Isak still at the club (plus Wissa and/or Woltemade not signed), how do you predict things would have then turned out for Alexander Isak and Newcastle United (Would he have still refused to train and play? How would Newcastle’s season have turned out? etc etc)?
I think it would have been funny tbh. He’s a mess imo but now earns a lot of money. Hope their new manager runs him into the ground. Hopefully Joelinton and Burn get to thank him when he plays against us.
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.
New signing
New signing Thiaw Burn Hall
New signing Tonali Bruno
New signing new signing Barnes
Is Eddie Howe still in charge next season the correct decision?
Yes and no. If we line up with Pope, Botman and Eddie telling us we don’t need a new CF, then he deserves what will come his way.
Eddie only knows how to play one way. And he is very successful at it. Eddie needs Eddie type players. Alex Scott at Bournemouth and Tavernier too. Run run run. He needs to be given a three or four year rotation of players by the club so he can literally run them into the ground. Any other type of player is simply a waste of money. This isn’t a criticism of Eddie. We won a cup playing like it. It works. But a front three of lazy Wissa, snail pace Woltemade and brainless Elanga are not going to suit Eddie’s style.
How confident are you that Newcastle will not lose Bruno, Hall, Livramento, Thiaw and Tonali? Do you think it would be a good thing if any of these players were sold?
Bruno and Hall. Don’t care about the rest tbh. Bruno is our leader. Hall is going to be world class. Tino is always injured. Thiaw will become top class. Tonali has his moments but he didn’t carry the team when Bruno was injured and he was poor until the new year. Not sure about him. I’d swap him for Alex Scott in a heartbeat.
Which players emerge with credit for the 2025/26 season?
Bruno, Hall, Thiaw, Barnes.
What would represent success in the 2026/27 season for Newcastle United?
We need to be top five position-wise and we have to beat “them” home and away and a proper beating too, not just 1-0.
And we need to start beating liVARpool too. I want to see us become that team who never stopped running and got right at the opposition.
What do you see as the minimum to achieve this coming season?
Top five, six points off the SMBs and a decent cup performance.
Predict the top six in the Premier League (in order) and which three clubs will be relegated in 2026/27.
Cheats, cheats, cheats, cheats, NUFC, Villa
Hull SMB Coventry
Which eight current Newcastle United players (in order) are the most important to keep for the 2026/27 season?
Bruno, Hall, Thiaw, Barnes, Miley. Just five. The rest can go tbh.
At what point did you first think the 2025/26 Newcastle United wasn’t going to turn out as you had hoped it would?
The Celtic friendly when Pope did his usual mistake. You think I’m on his case but Raya just won Arsenal the league and I will keep repeating that. The GK is the most important position in the team. Anyone can fill in the other positions but if you have a keeper with two left feet and only one working arm you aren’t going to do too well. And we didn’t.
Which players do you think would be ideal (and realistic) signings this summer (don’t feel limited to only players who have been linked to Newcastle United in the media)?
Of the players I know (as we appear to be scouting Europe again) I’d love to see us go for Alex Scott or Tavernier. We could try and persuade Nunez or Vlahovic to join us if the wages are ok. Garner from Everton is a very good player. Harry Wilson on a free maybe.
But what I want to see are players hungry to play for us, players who see us as a step up, who want to run run and then run some more for the shirt. A bit like Spud in Trainspotting when he had his job interview….
Will you be taking an active interest in the Newcastle players at the World Cup?
I look forward to the morning I wake up and see those little car flags in the kerbside. I watch them, hoping they won’t get injured, that’s all.
When Anthony Gordon is playing at the World Cup will you still be thinking of him as one of our own?
I wish him well. He’s a decent bloke. Don’t care about ingurrland really.
What level of interest generally will you have in the World Cup and what is your prediction on who will win it and how far do you think England will get?
One year I decided to watch a bit of every game. I was doing really well until an argument with my ex ended up with her throwing a glass at me which cut my arm and I ended up in A and E. But as luck would have it Croatia v Jamaica was on the TV when I got there. So it wasn’t all bad news! Finished 3-1 and the relationship finished not long after too.
I like to see them lose tbh. I find it hard pretending to like players I spend 38 games hating. Who wants to see Pickford, Henderson, Bellingham etc happy? Not me. I support one club. They will lose the minute they play a decent, or maybe not that decent, team in the knockout stage and all those red faced angry pretend football fans can vacate the pubs again.