Newcastle United: 2021-22 season review

The departure of Mike Ashley and arrival of the Magpies’ new Saudi Arabia-backed ownership group not only turned around a flatlining season, it also generated a level of hope and optimism that had been absent for far too long. The description of Newcastle as ‘the richest club in the world’ might be somewhat misleading given the rules and regulations that will have to be adhered to as Amanda Staveley and her backers look to invest in the next few years, but after almost a decade of depressing stagnation, the potential for sustainable growth is real. Suddenly, the future is bright rather than banal.

It didn’t look that way last summer of course, and given the unbridled enthusiasm that is coursing through Tyneside at the moment, it is easy to forget just how stagnant things felt as the season kicked off last August.

Takeover talk had faded into the background long before the campaign began, with Ashley remaining in control of the purse strings. Steve Bruce, with his talk of “keeping things ticking over” was in charge, and Newcastle’s sole piece of significant summer transfer business saw Joe Willock complete a £25m move from Arsenal. Given that the midfielder had been part of the squad for half a season anyway, as a loanee, it hardly felt like meaningful investment.

Sure enough, when the action began on the pitch, Newcastle struggled. The opening day was something of a horror show, with the Magpies conceding four goals at home to West Ham, and when they shipped four goals again three games later, crashing to a 4-1 defeat at Old Trafford, they found themselves rooted in the relegation zone.

A season of struggle looked inevitable, but things were about to change. At the end of September, Ashley’s legal team took the Premier League to a Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT), which was convened to assess the process that had led to the halting of a proposed Saudi Arabian takeover the previous March.

The tribunal never actually delivered a verdict, but two key things were nevertheless achieved. First, there was a clear confirmation that Staveley’s consortium, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), remained keen to buy Newcastle. Second, the Premier League were forced to admit that, notwithstanding the broadcasting piracy concerns that remained an issue, a deal would almost certainly be permitted if separation could be proven between the PIF and the Saudi state.

A couple of weeks later, the Saudi Arabian government reached an agreement with Qatar over broadcasting access for beIN Sports, removing a significant barrier to a deal. Then, on October 8, the £300m takeover of Newcastle was officially confirmed, with the Premier League issuing a statement saying it had received “legally binding assurances” that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would not be controlling the club.

Staveley swept into St James’ Park, delivering a series of interviews that spelled out a mission statement confirming that the landscape had changed. “Newcastle United deserves to be top of the Premier League,” said the new director. “It will take time, but we will get there.”

Simply getting a win would have been something at that stage, and while October’s home game with Tottenham might have taken place amid a party atmosphere, with supporters turning up at St James’ in Saudi-style robes and headdresses, the 3-2 defeat to Tottenham that followed marked the end of Bruce’s unsuccessful spell in charge.

A brief dalliance with Unai Emery followed, but after the Spaniard opted to remain at Villarreal, Newcastle’s new owners turned to Eddie Howe. As results over the second half of the season would prove, it turned out to a masterstroke.

Howe watched on from the stands at the Amex Stadium as Newcastle drew 1-1 with Brighton at the start of November, and took charge of his opening game a couple of weeks later as the Magpies drew 3-3 with Brentford.

The mood in the stands was transformed, with the ‘Wor Flags’ group producing the first of a series of pre-match displays that would go on to provide a colourful backdrop to the remainder of the season, but, initially at least, results on the pitch remained disappointing.

Newcastle belatedly claimed a first win of the season when Burnley were beaten at the start of December, but the festive fixture list proved tricky, with the Magpies suffering heavy defeats to Leicester, Liverpool and Manchester City, and the new year arrived with Howe’s side sitting in 19th position in the table.

January’s transfer window offered an opportunity to enact change, and whereas Ashley had steadfastly refused to invest in the playing squad, Newcastle’s new owners splashed the cash in an attempt to transform their club’s fortunes.

Almost £100m was spent on the permanent addition of Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn, Bruno Guimaraes and Chris Wood, and the loan signing of Matt Targett, and all five signings would go on to play crucial roles in what was to follow. Newcastle’s turnaround in the second half of the season was not just about money, but January’s astute investment definitely helped.

A dispiriting FA Cup defeat to Cambridge underlined the scale of the improvement that was needed, but while a home draw with Watford saw relegation fears increase, a 1-0 win at Leeds at the end of January proved the catalyst for a revival that would haul Newcastle away from the bottom three.

Howe took his squad to Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of that success at Elland Road – the training camp attracted criticism because of the Saudi government’s dreadful human rights record and the allegations of sport-washing that had accompanied Newcastle’s takeover the previous autumn, but Howe remains adamant it played a crucial role in developing team spirit and improving morale – and when they returned to action after returning to English soil, the Magpies were unrecognisable from the side that had struggled so badly in the first half of the season.

An eight-game unbeaten run that stretched from mid-January to mid-March lifted Newcastle out of the relegation zone, with Howe’s side continuing to impress despite the absence of Trippier, who had made an immediate impact both on and off the pitch, and their leading scorer Callum Wilson.

Joelinton was reinvented as a box-to-box midfielder, and would end the campaign as Newcastle’s Player of the Year. Burn was a revelation at centre-half, forming an effective partnership with Fabian Schar, and Guimaraes eased himself into life in the Premier League with a poise and assurance that was remarkable even for an established Brazil international.

Defeats to Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City highlighted how far Newcastle still have to go before they can be classed as genuine rivals to the established big six, but Sunday’s victory at Burnley means the Magpies still ended the campaign having won four of their final six matches.

They ended up in 11th, a scenario that was unthinkable for much of the season, when relegation felt like a realistic concern.

Thoughts now turn to the future, with Howe keen to manage expectations ahead of the summer transfer window. Newcastle will not be attempting to outspend Manchester City this summer, but more new signings will arrive and there will be an inevitable desire to kick on again next term.

A top-half finish? A cup run? A potential challenge for a European place? All should be within Newcastle’s compass next season, which marks an immediate shift from the aspirations which accompanied the start of a new campaign under Ashley. Back then, avoiding relegation was the be all and end all. Now, Newcastle find themselves embracing a brave new world.