The Season So Far - A BETTER United!

Top of the league, a real sense of belief, an understanding of the football club, a football club where the ever faithful fans felt so alienated with a few months back has now started to rekindle that connection – Newcastle United’s proverbial tag of underachievers will take time to discard, but the prerequisite foundations of a successful club is being built under the stewardship of Rafael Benítez.

Relegation was not hard to take, but the apathy surrounding St. James’ Park was bilious for many. Fears of no-return or “this time it won’t be as easy” lingered around Barrack Road; as soon as the announcement of Benítez’s stay was made, those doubts were rested and replaced with sheer optimism. The work behind the scenes were already underway; scrap the failed Ashley blueprint, we are now working with the blueprint of someone who understands the game, and someone who – despite being in the North-East for only 8 months – understands the city.

A number of changes on and off the field were made before the Championship campaign kicked off. The big operation begun with the release of club-captain Fabricio Coloccini, then the wantaways followed including the £30m sale of the unruly Sissoko. “We are only interested in bringing players to Newcastle who want to work hard for the club and the team, not players who want to be at another club maybe next year or the year after,” the manager explained. The exit door was wide open to the individuals that wished to shirk the challenge. The pulling-power of the club and manager was so great that signing players from the top tiers of domestic and foreign leagues was not going to be a major issue. Capturing the signatures of Ritchie and Gayle for a combined fee of £22m was not only a statement of intent, but also a change of philosophy.

Pre-season was about understanding the players, cohesion and hammering home Benítez’s meticulous strategies. No fancy trips to North America or Asia, instead the Magpies vied with the likes of Bohemian and Southend – it was refreshing to see the side going into the season with some purpose, and not there just to make up the numbers.

At the start of last season – a peripheral member of the squad – Jamaal Lascelles stepped up to the plate when he was required. When it seemed like no other player cared of the club’s plight after a 3-1 defeat to Southampton, the straight-talking centre-back wasn’t afraid to come out and speak to the media. This should have been the job of then-captain Coloccini, or in his absence, a more experienced player. Lascelles’ pragmatism, no-nonsense attitude, passion and determination automatically made the young defender a contender for captaincy. Benítez duly obliged the fans’ request and Lascelles was officially handed the captain’s armband before the start of the new season.

The opening game defeat to Fulham was followed by a home defeat to Huddersfield; question marks over the manager’s ability to handle the English 2nd tier were raised. The sceptics and the anti-Newcastle brigade couldn’t wait to have their say. The Wednesday evening game in mid-August against Reading was a reminder to the rest of the Championship that writing-off Newcastle’s promotion hopes was outlandishly premature. The manner of the 4-1 win was an indication that the players were finally starting to understand their manager’s demands. This was the start of a winning streak, the Geordies won 6 in all competitions, including a 2-0 win over promotion rivals Brighton and the 6-0 mauling of QPR away from home.

Between August and September, we quickly acknowledged that Benítez would be tinkering with his starting XI. From the shadows, Yoan Gouffran has now become an automatic starter. His resurgence has been fantastic; tipped to leave during the summer, Gouffran has epitomised the hard work and dedication required to succeed in this league. The attitude and desire of Jonjo Shelvey was up for debate, however, Rafa’s Midas touch has made the former England international one of the best midfielders in the league.

The Magpies last tasted defeat in September; a 2-0 home defeat to Wolves was a wake-up call the side needed, complacency was probably the operative word in the dressing room after that game. The astonishing 4-3 win against another promotion rival, Norwich, not only instilled more belief, but also the Canaries were dealt with a huge psychological blow. Norwich now lie 5th, 10 points adrift of Newcastle. The second 6-0 win of the season against Preston in the EFL Cup meant the Magpies facing Hull City in the Quarter-Finals. The Tigers have had a difficult start to their season, so this fixture will be deemed as a great opportunity to progress into the Semi-Finals. All of a sudden, cup competitions are no longer treated as a chore.

There have been cries for a Mitrović and Gayle partnership; the 4-4-1-1 formation has so far proven to be a successful tactic and Rafa is not prepared to bow down to such calls. What an astute acquisition Dwight Gayle has been, the new number 9 has already bagged 11 goals and has looked deadly in front of goal. Nearly all of the games this season, the midfield have been dominant, not only Shelvey is pulling the strings and Gouffran putting a shift out on the wing, new signings Ritchie and Hayden are fast becoming fans’ favourites. With a passing accuracy of 78.4%, goals coming from all over the park and the highest shots-per-game ratio in the league (15.4), it is hardly surprising when pundits favour Newcastle for the title.

A solid partnership in defence is forming, many assumed the Lascelles and Mbemba pairing would have been hard to break. However, Ciaran Clark has now demoted the Congolese to the bench. A surprise signing from Aston Villa, Clark has made the most interceptions in the Newcastle side and is only behind Dummett and Lascelles on average aerial duels won.

It is hard to pinpoint what Benítez can improve on. We are top of the league and well on course to meet our primary objective, we are also in the Quarter-Finals of the EFL Cup with a great chance of progressing to the last four. If we are nitpicking for faults then there are two aspects the backroom staff will need to look at. Firstly, the majority of Newcastle’s attack comes from the right (45%) in Ritchie. The Scottish international is more of a natural winger than Gouffran, who tends to start on the left, in order for the side to become less predictable, Christian Atsu should be given more of an opportunity to ply his trade on the left. Atsu’s direct style of play is a cause for concern for many Championship defenders; however, his final ball needs working on. Secondly, Diamé has found it difficult to play in an advanced position. The midfielder has shown glimpses of his quality, and will no doubt be a key player as the season progresses. In 14 games, he has managed only 1 assist and averages 1.1 key passes per game – whereas, Ayoze Pérez averages 1.6 and looks more creative going forward.

Speculation will be at its peak as we approach the January transfer window. Most importantly, Rafael Benítez has made it clear that his key players are not for sale. Amalgamating the squad is always a tough task, and it has taken a lot of work to get this side playing such efficient football, it would take something out of the ordinary to see the Spaniard make major changes during the window. Cheick Tioté’s days on Tyneside are numbered, so he maybe the first one to leave; along with other fringe players that haven’t played a major part this season. There has been interest in Jamaal Lascelles from Chelsea, but that link was quickly dismissed. There has been a heavy presence of Newcastle scouts in Belgium in recent months; Genk defender Wilfred Ndidi is a reported target for £8m. If the Geordies are in a strong position in the Championship when the window reopens, signings will only be made if the price is right with the player having the ability to compete in the Premier League. There are a number of players who will become free agents in the summer and will be free to talk to clubs in January. Liverpool’s Lucas Leiva has been previously linked with a move to Tyneside and it’ll be interesting to see whether Benítez opts to bring in the experienced midfielder, who he knows very well. Signing players for the purpose of the Championship will be very unlikely unless the club is hit with a wave of injuries.

It is still early days in the 'Rafalution', but the progress the club is making is pleasing. The club has opted for a change of direction and have allowed the manager to dictate matters. Off the field we are seeing a more proactive Newcastle, in terms of working with the community and the club’s foundation. Improving relationship with the supporters is also on the agenda. We have seen the club work closely with Gallowgate Flags to enhance the atmosphere at St. James’ Park, and there’s also better interaction with fans on social media – from opening an Instagram account for behind the scenes access to colloquial Tweets. The club is making the right noises in what is a long and hard season, the supporters are responding and the tickets are selling. Let’s hope there’s more to come.