There was a debate in the Newcastle press room this week about what was more important for the club: winning the Carabao Cup or qualifying for the Champions League. So the conclusion was: a big club, the club that Newcastle wants to be, would do both.
Financially, the Champions League obviously surpasses the Carabao. A bonus pool of more than £1 million paid to players if they win the latter would be ten times the £100,000 prize money the club would receive from the EFL.
But there is a bigger picture that goes beyond the picture painted on the balance sheet. Lifting a domestic cup, 70 years after the last one, would in itself bring an untold fortune.
That's why Eddie Howe will pick his strongest team for Tuesday's semi-final first leg against Arsenal. That's why he did that in the final round at home to Brentford, despite it being a few days away from a series of celebratory games that he desperately needed to win. And that's why every star who has signed a new contract in the past 18 months has spoken so passionately about being part of the team that finally lifts a trophy. That is mainly their motivation.
There comes a point in a club's journey when those involved want and need to see their reflection in silverware and not just in the mirror. And thank God, Newcastle United has been staring in the mirror long enough. They've also broken quite a few over the past half century.
So when Saudi owners came along in 2021, it felt like their luck had changed. The truth is, nothing will really change until they win something. English football's most infamous trophy drought means the club is still defined by the ruins of its past, living amid its own ruins.
Yes, they're building something new, but the old trophy cabinet goes with you – and as long as it's populated by dust, the stardust will never truly descend on St James' Park. They will always be that club that celebrates moments that ultimately led to failure. Manchester United 5-0, Barcelona 3-2, Paris Saint-Germain 4-1. The last two did not even get further than the group stage of the Champions League.
It is why supporters, if they were to join the pressroom discussion, would argue for the cup win.
“Winning the League Cup would be the final stage in Newcastle returning to what we consider to be a 'successful' club,” said Alex Hurst, host of the True Faith Podcast.
'If we look at the last domestic trophy from 70 years ago, it is effectively 70 years of failure. If you look at the previous 70 years of Newcastle United, there were a lot of trophies in that time. So something went wrong.
'From the supporters' perspective it is a shame that the club has failed for so long when the support has been there all the time. If we won a cup we would get rid of that failure.”
But will it help to convince big names such as Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes to stay on Tyneside, amid continued links with moves elsewhere?
That is possible, but not without the Champions League, and that was the core of our journalistic debate.
Think of it as the main course and the dessert. The big players want Champions League football as the main part of their diet, the taste sensation comes later. Winning a trophy this season and not following that up with a top four (possibly top five) finish might give them a reason to leave, feel their job is done and their place in the history of to secure the club.
That's why Newcastle needs both. Achieve that and hypothetical conversations about what's more important will be confined to history, much like the trophy drought. It would mark the start of a new era and change the way the club is seen, both internally and externally.
How does Howe get past Arsenal? After six wins on the spin, playing with a new identity of control and clinical finishing – Isak has nine goals in seven games in the Premier League – the head coach sees this as 90 minutes, rather than 45 with a second leg looming.
“For us, I think we are at our best when we just watch the game and don't think too much,” he said when pressed by Mail Sport on his approach. 'But it's a good question. There is a danger of tying yourself in knots when you are actually questioning yourself. It's a football game. It's 90 minutes.
'Yes, it is only half time and there will be a second chance, regardless of the outcome. But a positive approach, playing our way, is our best chance for a positive outcome.”
Yet Howe's side have rediscovered the dark arts of late, a nasty side that has irked Mikel Arteta and Arsenal in the past. When the Saudi takeover was completed just over three years ago, Newcastle were on the verge of completing a run of eight consecutive defeats to the Gunners. Since then, they have won three of the last six and buried a few of their own and their opponents' top trophies. four dreams.
“We're here to try to win and at the end of the day that's all we're driven about,” said the Newcastle boss, whose side sit fifth in the Premier League. 'What's popular, I don't really care what happens outside Newcastle. The image that other teams have of us does not worry me that much. It's about making sure we're happy with who we are.'
Everyone associated with Newcastle will be much happier if they win a trophy, and that is their sole focus at the moment. They certainly don't debate the advantages of that compared to the Champions League.
Comments