How Do We Challenge?

[Yorkie]

I'm not convinced it's possible for us to mount a serious title challenge outside of a scenario where all the usual suspects falter simultaneously. The spending rules are structured to prevent it from happening and are very effective at that. 

 

In the immediate aftermath of last season I had genuine hopes that it could happen as soon as right now, but the Isak thing was a tipping point for me. Regardless of his form since the move, the Isak at Newcastle was a 'keys to the castle' player, and we were going to invest around him. But no. 

 

If there's any hope at all then the obvious thing is that we need to keep Eddie Howe forever, because he might literally be the best there is, and then we've got to beat PSR. For me, the principal route to that is to turn the academy into a money printing machine. We missed the boat with Anderson so it will have to start with Miley. 

 

But for as long as the rules ordain that some teams will always have a greater capacity to spend, it can only happen via an opportunistic Leicester-style raid. 

 

Edit: for what it's worth, if it takes selling our soul to get there then I'm very happy with the current arrangement of being fucking mint, qualifying for Europe, being competitive in the league, and winning domestic cups.

[Rafalove]

In terms of our current squad. I think we need a top level goalkeeper. Someone who can show calmness and composure with the ball at his feet and also make saves he has no real right to save, on a regular basis, like you see with world class goalkeepers.

 

 

 

our right back situation is ideal, Tino about to come in to his prime years. Sharer in the academy, who looks promising but is under no pressure to make the step up before he is ready due to the fact we have Trippier, who probably couldn’t handle playing week in-week out anyway. But is valuable due to experience and on the field coaching, as well as still being a very good player. and is important figure behind the scenes. Krafth who hardly plays but is mr reliable when he does, and is happy to play understudy.

 

 

I think we’re pretty good at centre back, especially if Thiaw can continue the way he has. Of course we have a number of players coming towards their twilight years so we need to keep an eye on that, plus Botman doesn’t have the best injury record. Llascelles leadership behind the scenes seems to be useful too. Which we shouldn’t forget or take for granted just because he doesn’t play much.

 

 

I think left back is an issue. Hall is great but we need cover because Burn doesn’t fill always fill me with confidence from a defensive standpoint point.

 

 

 

in terms of midfield we look good, especially with Sandro, and Bruno in there, though if I’m too nit pick the latter he does have his frustrating moments. Miley coming through at a steady pace, is good. Willock, sadly, might be done. I hope not but it’s been a while since we’ve seen the type of performance from him, and he might not be able to return to his glory days.
 

Big Joe is great, but maybe a slight decline? Ramsey I’m not sure off, played well yesterday and obviously has some attributes, but I worry he maybe isn’t the type too break down a deep defensive structure. 
 

 

our wingers are good in their own way, and offer something different from each other which I like, but don’t seem consistent enough. We’ve probably needed them so who’s more than they have.

 

 

 

Woltemade looks to a really top signing and who knows? could be that elite level striker, every title challenging team needs, but it’s still early doors for him in a new league, and there will no doubt be many hurdles for him to over come. How quickly and easily those hurdles are jumped will tell us how good he really is.

 

we’ll obviously need Wissa to come good and in future seasons not suffer similar injury to what he has so far this season. And Osula is a good third option for the bench and development.

 

 

 

overall I think we need to do our business earlier. And start our season in a better shape than we have the last two or three. Part of that will be doing our transfer business sooner so Eddie will have his full squad settled for the season opener. I’m pretty confident in saying that’s we had a striker for our opening fixtures we’d be at least six points better off than we currently are.

 

 

And lastly we just can’t have bogey teams. That means Liverpool, Bournemouth and Brighton are teams we pick up points from.

 

 

Edited October 30, 2025 by Rafalove

[SiLvOR]

Consistency. We've all identified how streaky we are under Howe, which can yield incredible runs. However, we often experience significant periods of "luls" where we're dropping stupid points. Brighton (every year), West Ham at home last season, Fulham doing the double over us last season, and so on.

 

The Premier League feels more competitive than ever, however, the Liverpool's and Man City's in recent times have managed to constantly win against most sides. They beat those around them, they beat the middle of the pack, and they beat the relegation fodder. We seem to beat sides around us (but not those as 1-2 spots typically), beat the relegation lot, but really struggle against the middle of the pack. That's what needs to improve, and to do that, we need more creativity in my opinion. Whether that's from the wings or an attacking midfielder, I don't know. But that's how I see us taking the next step.

 

We've taken a great step forward in our squad depth, but that also still needs additions as well, to truly mount a season long assault on the top.

[nufc4eva]

I think it's how we scout and recruit as much as how much money we have. 

 

Getting our centre midfield improved and more technical wingers would help massively, even one technical player out wide would be an improvement. Keeper is a must as is full back cover. Are we really that far off or 3 upgrades away from pushing on given signings this summer ?

 

Teams like Chelsea and Man U spend money but not getting them title so it's about being smart and having right manager which we have. 

[timeEd32]

Anyone talking about football related things is missing the point unless you're hoping for a one-off Leicester type season.

 

The conclusion from Swiss Ramble's post today is really everything:

 

Quote

Conclusion

Even though it is possible for a member of the Big Six to perform badly on the pitch, as seen by the poor displays by Manchester United and Tottenham last season, the chances are that when this happens, it will only be a temporary setback, as their financial power means that they can quickly bounce back.

 

Despite some good growth at the aspirational clubs, the harsh reality is that the revenue gap to the Big Six has never been higher, further boosted by differences in player trading and even asset sales (where necessary). This has allowed them to invest even more money in talent to help fight off any challengers, so the gaps in wages, player amortisation and squad cost are also at an all-time high.

 

However, the Big Six also lose more money on average than the other 14 clubs, which means that they have taken on more debt, most strikingly in order to fund transfers.

 

Nevertheless, the smart money continues to be on the Big Six taking the qualification slots for European competition, especially in the highly lucrative Champions League, which further reinforces their dominance.

 

There have been questions regarding some apparent chinks in the armour of the Big Six, but reports of this group’s demise would seem to be a little premature, due to their ever-growing financial power.

 

There should be zero expectations of a PL title challenge unless/until we establish that there is now a Big Financial 7.

[The College Dropout]

Find ways to get close to the big 6 revenues which means some hacks. 
 

If we don’t. We won’t.  It’s that simple.  

[duo]

PSR scrapped so we can pay the wages to keep our best players and attract better ones.

[gazza ladra]

2 hours ago, JT24 said:

Stop having slow starts to the season. 

Was fully expecting to do just that this season, but then the rat threw a wrench into the gears.

[andyc35i]

Echo everything everyone else is saying, but I always look at certain achievements / milestones that we need to hit. I’m talking about consistently getting between 20-25 league wins in a season, hitting the 70 point mark as a start, having a very strong goal difference, going to Chelsea, Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool and beating them. That sort of stuff gives us confidence and something to build on - that’s why winning the trophy this year was very welcome for progression as we proved we can be winners 

[timeEd32]

51 minutes ago, NSG said:

I see us as being where Arsenal were about 3 years ago. Always in and around the top 6, with ambitions to go to the top.

 

Ultimately the only way we’ll move

to a title challenge is by being in the Champions League for four or five years in a row.

 

Arsenal were already top 8 in the world in revenue and firmly part of the Big 6 and then had the single highest % revenue growth of any club in Europe between 2022/23 and 2023/24. 

 

We're on a good track, but I think it's fair to say that so far we've made more progress pulling away from the other 13 (or 12 if you put Villa with us) than gaining on the six ahead. It's a long road that would honestly feel insurmountable without Eddie.

[LFEE]

Depends on PSR rules going forward but if no change there then…

 

Patience. We are going in the right direction.

 

Keep faith in Howe at ALL times.

 

Smarter fanbase. When our competitors come knocking for our players don’t fall into every trap set where club is left with a situation that selling their best players to a competitor is seen as the only choice available.

 

Yeah academy and multi club stuff no bad thing but not vital. Don’t think Liverpool got there with either? Just smart recruitment and a great manager and a bit of luck.

 

The unwritten stuff is the draw of being able to pull players our way all thinks being equal and that’s why we should have one if not the biggest stadium in the country to highlight we are not a stepping stone club.

 

Did I say back Howe already? ☑️ 

 

 

[joeyt]

4 minutes ago, LFEE said:

Yeah academy and multi club stuff no bad thing but not vital. Don’t think Liverpool got there with either? Just smart recruitment and a great manager and a bit of luck.

 

 

 

 

Liverpool have consistently got top dollar for their academy youngsters.

 

TAA is the exception and they still managed to get £10mil for him to be released early for the Club World Cup

[Super Duper Branko Strupar]

New stadium, new training ground, better academy. We could also probably do with some investment in grass roots football in the north east generally.

 

The fact we really can be expecting greater success than some "Big 6" clubs now each season is a canny way to have come already, mind. A PL title win needs either the perfect season, or a few more years of building. Without deviation.

[The College Dropout]

We can’t be compared to Liverpool. They are arguably the biggest club in England. Top 3 at worst. 
 

We can’t replicate what Liverpool have done. Or Arsenal.  Not even Spurs. 

[gazza ladra]

5 minutes ago, The College Dropout said:

We can’t be compared to Liverpool. They are arguably the biggest club in England. Top 3 at worst. 
 

We can’t replicate what Liverpool have done. Or Arsenal.  Not even Spurs. 

What exactly have Spurs achieved?

[Heron]

3 hours ago, Nepharite said:

After the takeover, we have spent a ton of money and developed our identity and style under Eddie's management. What do we need to do to become challengers for the Premier League?

Continue.

[Erikse]

Not only do we need quality in all positions, but also an attacker who is like Isak, but without the bad form periods and injuries. Someone who can produce like Haaland, Salah and de Bruyne has in the previous seasons. That's very difficult for us to find under the current rules. It's even difficult to find for those who can spend atleast double of what we can. If the rest of our team is at a very high level, then maybe an attacker at the level of Saka would do.

 

 

Edited October 30, 2025 by Erikse

[Weezertron]

It's not possible. 

 

I'm not too down about it though, really enjoying the ride to wherever we end up. 

 

More chance of winning the champions league in the future, I reckon. 

 

 

[Erikse]

Obviously Leicester was a freak occurrence, but they didn't win because of depth. Everything falling in place for them aside, they also won due to having Kante, Mahrez and Vardy (all 3 some of the best ever PL players) in the same team. It's wild how much individual players can carry mediocre players if they are just that good. As much as we hate him, our form last season largely depended on Isaks form. Trippier did so much heavy lifting when we finished 4th (ofcourse Howe being Howe was the main part).

 

 

Edited October 30, 2025 by Erikse

[Thumbheed]

Think it just boils down to 1 thing and that's a squad of player who are capable of giving out 8/10 performances every game by virtue of how good they are. 

 

We're still a couple of seasons away from that, despite how much we've upgraded this summer. 

[LFEE]

1 hour ago, joeyt said:

 

Liverpool have consistently got top dollar for their academy youngsters.

 

TAA is the exception and they still managed to get £10mil for him to be released early for the Club World Cup

I meant for playing in the first team to win the league as opposed to generate income for player purchases which I appreciate from that angle.

 

Their two title winning teams have been well assembled but rarely depended on many academy prospects coming through. I’d argue they buy/sell that well they would be where they are without an academy.

 

I’ve mentioned a few times on here over the last 4 years that we seem to be taking the Liverpool approach but on a smaller budget overall. Whereas Villa have went for the more transient approach.

[WilliamPS]

The next step is to breakaway from the other 13, financially and on the pitch.
 

On the pitch Consistently finish in the top 7, ideally top 5, and build a consistent European competition presence, competing in the business end of European tournaments. Win trophies regularly- including a European one. Not every season but enough that a player signing for Newcastle knows he will get silverware at the club.

 

Off the pitch build revenues to support a bigger squad on more money, plus bigger transfer fees. Use the greater on pitch performances to drive higher commercial revenue as the club become more marketable. 

 

When a top 6 club falters, take advantage, finish above, push them out the CL, and reach a point of regular (say three in a row) CL qualification. Achieve that and then the league is on. IMO it will take another 4 seasons to reach that point, and there if all goes smoothly.

[kingxlnc]

The answer is as simple as three letters: PIF

 

Use their crazy wealth advantages more instead of playing so nice and within the rules

 

Sell deadwood to Saudi Pro League for 50m a pop

 

Loan or buy the best players in that league cheaply

 

Get the biggest sponsors in the gulf

 

Build that 75000 seater stadium

 

Align our PL title win aspirations with their famous Vision 2030 plan

[NWMag]

Most of my opinions on this have already been stated, but for me we aren’t a million miles away ‘on our day’; the challenge is the consistency to do it every 3 days.

 

we have made huge progress to be able to make 8 changes on Wednesday and still have a strong team out, we couldn’t do this 18 months ago.

 

As has been said, revenue is the key so consistent CL qualifying is a no brainer, this also increases our reputation among footballers; we could have all the money in the world but some other clubs are just a bigger draw than us currently.

 

the key focus is to increase what we are allowed to spend but also reduce what we need to spend. This is where the academy is key, as is our policy of signing younger players. 
 

take a look at our back 4 for example. Once all fit, Hall, Botman, Thiaw, Tino could be our back line for at least 5 years. That means minimal investment needed in that area of the pitch, allowing us to focus on the other areas. Eventually we will get to a point where we only need 2/3 additions per year, tying into the “reduce what we need to spend” above.

 

I could see us putting serious pressure on the league leaders within 2/3 years, but I’d say closer to 5 years until we mount a serious challenge for the title itself whilst remaining competitive in other completions. 
 

I would not be surprised if we win more trophies before then though, especially domestically, as the cups benefit us as we can match anyone in a one off game if we are on it.

[Stottie]

Probably can't be done nicey nicey within the rules as set by the cartel.

Something will have to be done with the stadium, likely a new one. This too cannot be achieved nicey nicey. Opposition at the planning stage will need to be crushed.