Daniel Wales and Jordan Cronin host the first NewcastleWorld-TalkTyne and Wear Newcastle United Podcast. They discuss Bruno Guimarães’ performance against Nottingham Forest, how much Nick Pope is missed, the latest injury situation, aiming to improve against Bournemouth, and Dan Ashworth’s supposed move to Manchester United.
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00:00 Jordan, this is our first podcast Q&A for a while, I guess. Obviously a combination
00:18 Newcastle World and yourself and TalkTail and we are in May. If we start with looking
00:22 at Nottingham Forest, that was a great 3-2 win for Newcastle United. Perhaps not the
00:28 best performance in the world but I think if I start with Bruno Guveraia, he shone on
00:34 that day. His post-match interview was a little bit interesting, he said he'd been a little
00:37 bit ill through the week as well which did make me laugh a little bit. For him to go
00:41 out and put a performance like that out, despite what he'd been going through, is pretty impressive.
00:46 Two really important goals, especially his second was a really good finish. From your
00:52 point of view, how important were those three points? It was a really important win and
01:00 as he mentioned there, Bruno, the star man, an incredible performance by him. Pushed a
01:06 little bit further forward against Nottingham Forest and I think maybe going forward that
01:11 might be the key to Newcastle turning around their season. Obviously Bruno has done an
01:17 incredible job as a number 6 but it feels like time has moved on a little bit and Newcastle
01:23 are in need of new ideas. Bruno seems to be that guy who can really unlock that in the
01:30 final third. We've seen that against Nottingham Forest, he was at the heart of everything.
01:36 Great finish for the first goal, the volley which was finished, that shouldn't be underestimated.
01:42 The second goal as well, he's in that advanced position where he's pushed further forward,
01:46 he's gambled on the player giving the ball away, put the ball in the bottom corner. Just
01:51 an incredible footballer and we're seeing the back end of the Luton Town game as well,
01:56 when Newcastle mounted their comeback to draw 4-4. The cross that Bruno put in for Kieran
02:02 Trippi as well, it was towards the end as well where he spanned the Luton Town right
02:07 back on the right hand side and then put a cross outside his foot into the box. I think
02:12 it was met by Jacob Murphy but the ball went wide over the crossbar. There's little moments
02:18 like that where not many other players in Newcastle United's team can do that and I
02:21 think Bruno now, for as good as he is, I see in that number six position, I think we've
02:25 seen in the last few games that maybe he's a little bit wasted there. When Newcastle
02:28 are lacking that little bit of creativity and that spark going forward, Bruno is the
02:32 man that really can inspire that. I thought the result was really, really important. I
02:39 thought the 4-4 draw against Luton was a disappointing result. Having beaten Aston
02:43 Ville, I thought it was a really good opportunity to build a little bit of momentum but to be
02:47 fair, Newcastle, as I say, they went to Nottingham Forest and they won. But what I would say
02:51 is I thought the performance as a whole, there was a lot of questions still to be answered
02:57 from Eddie Howe's team. We spoke about defensively how they've been over the last few games,
03:04 last few months. Defensively, they're not the side they were last season. In the early
03:08 stages of that Nottingham Forest game, they moved Kieran Trippiard into a central position
03:13 and they had Fabian Schär move over the right-hand side defence, Sven Bottner in the middle and
03:19 then Dan Burns tucked in. For the first 20 minutes, Newcastle looked in total control
03:24 against Nottingham Forest, took the lead. But then after that, Eddie Howe's team have
03:29 ditched that Kieran Trippiard way of playing. They almost went back to the same shape as
03:35 how they played for a lot of the season and last season as well. Although Newcastle got
03:44 three points against Nottingham Forest, I do think their defensive questions are still
03:48 there and a lot needs to be done to make sure they become that defence that is strong again.
03:56 In terms of going forward, I think Bruno is massive for the team. I think he could be
04:09 the key between now and the end of the season.
04:12 It was an interesting tactical shift from Howe, wasn't it? Obviously putting Trippiard
04:15 and moving him up from defence a little bit, playing that number six role, sort of in a
04:21 way. He was sort of next to Lewis Miley for a lot of that first half. I think obviously
04:25 those who were calling for Tino Livermanto to start, that's all well and good. But for
04:30 Howe to enact that change, Dan Byrne sort of had to play, didn't he? Because of course
04:34 you couldn't really have Livermanto, who is a fully-fledged full-back, playing in a back
04:38 three of three centre-halves. Whereas Dan Byrne can fit that role a bit more, which
04:43 allowed Trippiard to push up and then allowed Bruno to push up as well.
04:45 Because I think, as you mentioned there, Bruno's a bit wasted as a six when you think about
04:49 it because he's not exactly got a lot of pace, Bruno. And when that ball goes in behind him
04:55 and it's Miley or Longstaff, there's that huge gap between the defence and the midfield.
04:59 And when Bruno's not got enough pace, and even though he's a six, he can't get back
05:03 quick enough, and all of a sudden you've got to run the back foot. And that's where a lot
05:06 of goals have been conceded in the last few months, which has been a concern. And I can
05:11 probably see why Howe put Trippiard in there to try and stop that, sort of fill that gap
05:17 and let Bruno push up higher. So I think that worked. But then, as you say, it went back
05:20 to the back four and then things got a little bit ropey at times. There was a few moments,
05:27 but then again, Nottingham Forest weren't too much of a threat. Yes, they had their
05:32 moments, but I mean, obviously they scored two goals as well. But as I say, in terms
05:36 of an attacking sense, the first goal for them, it's a ball played through Burn. We
05:41 all know what happened there, unfortunately. And the second goal is just a really, really
05:46 unlucky deflection off Lewis Miley, which they probably didn't deserve at that point.
05:50 But regardless, it was a really important win.
06:05 If we look at the goalkeeping department next, that's an interesting one because De Brocka,
06:10 since he's come back into the side, has improved. I think there's no two ways of looking at
06:15 that. He obviously started off a bit rusty, made a few mistakes, but certainly against
06:21 Liverpool he was really good and he's made some good saves against Forest as well and
06:24 against Sunderland to add that in too. But if you look at some of the stats and the contribution
06:30 Nick Pope actually has to Newcastle, even though some obviously rightly slayed his kicking
06:35 ability, is it fair to say that Pope has missed more than we realise?
06:40 Yes, 100%. There was a stat during the rounds the other day and I can't remember the exact
06:46 numbers, but I think De Brocka has conceded nearly two goals a game, whereas under Nick
06:54 Pope, Newcastle have conceded less goals than games. I think even in the Premier League
07:00 clean sheets this season, Newcastle are still up there and a lot of that is down to the
07:04 clean sheets at Nick Pope. If you think about the three Premier League clean sheets, I think
07:12 it's two, they're battling Fulham at home and then... or is that it? Is Fulham the only
07:20 one?
07:21 Is it Fulham? When did De Brocka come back in? I'm trying to think.
07:24 He was in for Fulham.
07:25 Yeah, because Pope got injured against Manchester United and so it would be Fulham. I think
07:33 that might be it, to be honest. Whilst you're talking, I'm going to look that up.
07:37 Yeah, we should probably clarify that before we keep going. I agree, I think Martin De
07:45 Brocka has improved as the games have gone on. I think he had a really tough starter
07:50 coming back into the team, but then since the turn of the year, he was excellent at
07:55 Liverpool. Arguably kept that from being double figures in the end. He then had something
08:01 to win in the FA Cup, which, OK, he wasn't the busiest, but from being so busy against
08:07 Liverpool to then having a quiet afternoon, but then still making two very good saves
08:13 when called upon. I think the two saves today was Alex Pritchard twice and there was a Piatkwa
08:19 shot that was deflected as well. I think that's why I was really impressed with De Brocka
08:24 as he showed his concentration. It can be hard for a goalkeeper when you have nothing
08:27 to do all game, then you're called into action. There's some goalkeepers that don't have that
08:31 concentration, but he showed that and he deservedly kept it clean to that day.
08:36 And then I think Manchester City was good again. And then probably the last two games,
08:43 I think maybe if you want to be critical, you could probably pick faults with De Brocka's
08:49 performance. I think that certainly the Nottingham Forest game where the first goalies came charging
08:56 off his line, obviously when Alanga scored, I don't understand why he was in that position.
09:04 And then I thought he was a little bit hesitant after that coming off his line. There was
09:09 the penalty peeled by Nottingham Forest, which I don't believe was a penalty. Alan Shearer
09:13 did, which I don't argue with Alan Shearer here.
09:15 I don't think it was either. I think it was incredibly harsh.
09:19 Yeah, I thought the Nottingham Forest strike, I was going to ground, as De Brocka's put
09:23 his arm up anyway, the ball was going out of play. Don't see how that's a penalty, but
09:28 only that led from Martin De Brocka being hesitant off his line and didn't commit early
09:34 and end up, well, in the end, sort of bringing the player down.
09:39 So I think Martin De Brocka has improved, but Nick Pope is the undisputed number one
09:44 and the stats speak for themselves. I don't have the stats in front of me right now, but
09:49 as I say, they do speak for themselves and it just shows how much Newcastle really do
09:53 miss Nick Pope.
09:56 I suppose it's no knock on De Brocka, but it just shows that in Nick Pope, Newcastle
10:00 have got a very, very good goalkeeper. And I think hopefully Nick Pope should be back
10:06 ahead of schedule, as talk of him being, about potentially mid to late March.
10:10 And I think for me, once Nick Pope's back fit, for as good as De Brocka has performed,
10:15 Nick Pope should be straight back on the team because they also miss that. I never associated
10:21 Nick Pope as a sweeper keeper, but then since Martin De Brocka has come back on the team,
10:28 you actually realise that Nick Pope was very good coming off his line as well.
10:32 And we've got a lot of danger, as I mentioned there, Martin De Brocka isn't the best at
10:35 coming off his line. So we talk about a back five, including the goalkeeper, but that actually
10:42 is the case with Nick Pope because he offers up, I wouldn't say protection, but as I say,
10:47 he comes off his line, he almost inspires confidence in his back line.
10:50 I think that's the big thing is, I think over time, Newcastle's defenders became more comfortable
10:55 with Martin De Brocka and understand his strengths. But when you've got Nick Pope behind you,
11:00 you know for a fact he's coming for crosses, you know for a fact he's coming off his line.
11:03 I think take that out of there, it's a really, really difficult thing.
11:06 So as I say, I like Martin De Brocka, I think he's a very good number two, but Nick Pope
11:11 for me, the quality between the two is significant.
11:16 I actually think that Nick Pope inspires confidence, as you say there, which allows the defenders,
11:20 the back four, to push up a little bit higher because they know he's going to cover that
11:25 area sort of around the box. And then that in turn, you know, narrows that gap between
11:30 the midfield and the defence because they're a bit closer.
11:33 And just on the clean sheets, which we mentioned before, I've had a look, the only permanently
11:37 clean sheet he has had since he's come back in was indeed Fulham. He's of course had two
11:41 in the FA Cup, also one against Fulham and then one against Sunderland as well.
11:46 So three in total, but only one in the Premier League, which is disappointing. I mean, I
11:50 don't think that's completely down to him, in fairness. I think some of the defensive
11:56 errors have contributed to that and midfield errors too. And obviously some, you just can't
12:02 help as a goalkeeper. But I think Nick Pope, as I say, he inspires the confidence, as we
12:06 say there, in the defence to push up a bit higher and sort things out a little bit more.
12:11 So yeah, Nick Pope, as you say there, hopefully back a bit ahead of schedule mid to late March,
12:18 which would be a real boost.
12:29 Speaking of injuries, if we do have a look at some of the others now, of course, Callum
12:33 Wilson had an interesting bit of a freak incident at the end, right at the end of the Nottingham
12:39 Forest game as well. And then also Jacob Murphy, who was on the bench, was pretty much unable
12:44 to come on, according to Eddie Howe, due to a tight calf, I think was the reasoning. So
12:49 if we look at them two first, before we then mention Willock, Isak and Anderson, who are
12:52 all hopefully nearing returns too. Wilson and Murphy, firstly, are they looking lightly
12:59 for Bournemouth? And secondly, what happened, I think is the big point of view.
13:07 Yeah, the Callum Wilson injury was just freak. I mean, to be fair, Newcastle have had a few
13:15 freak injuries this season. And then you even probably put Sandro Tannoli in that category
13:19 in terms of like a freak incident. So Newcastle's look on injuries, for as bad as it has been,
13:26 has been out for a long time now. And you think about Jacob Murphy's dislocated shoulder
13:31 and Nick Pope's dislocated shoulder. You then have Callum Wilson, who initially was feared
13:37 that he dislocated his shoulder, but it's actually a pectoral injury, which again, I'm
13:44 no medical expert, but it sounds very...
13:46 It's such a strange place to get an injury though.
13:47 Yeah, it is. But it was right at the end, I think. He'd gotten a tangle, a knock on a
13:53 forest defender, and as he's running sort of to the away end, he starts feeling his
13:58 well, his pec. So yeah, such a freak injury. It's every time Newcastle seem to get players
14:07 back from injury, they lose one. So hopefully, I think Callum Wilson should be okay for the
14:15 weekend. It's just about managing the pain. I suspect the medical team and Eddie Howell
14:25 will be pushing for him to play because it doesn't sound like Alexander Izak's going
14:30 to be back. So again, groin issues with him all season. So if Newcastle don't have any
14:39 of those two players fit, then they'd only be left without a recognised strike. And I
14:43 do think Eddie Howell would be very reluctant to do that. But of course, I think it all
14:48 depends on how the players are feeling. If it's about popping a few painkillers and getting
14:56 on with it, then I'm sure he'll play. But yeah, I think he should be okay for the weekend.
15:04 And Jacob Murphy, obviously a tight calf. He was on the bench, but Eddie Howell used
15:08 I think the word 'unusable' in that Nottingham Forest game. So again, you'd like to think
15:15 that if it's just a tight calf, he should be okay, I presume?
15:20 Yeah I think so. It sounded more precautionary than anything else. Tight calf sounds a little
15:28 bit less significant than a calf issue, for example. So I think I'd imagine he'd be back
15:35 in the squad. I'm not sure if he's trained this week, but I'd imagine he should be alright.
15:46 If not, then that bench will be looking a little bit lighter again, just when it started
15:53 in the last few weeks to look a little bit stronger with players coming back.
15:57 It has, yeah. There's been at least one or two attacking options on the bench, which
16:00 is not something they've had for a good few weeks. And then if we look at, you mentioned
16:04 Alexander Izak there, plus Joe Willock and Elliot Anderson, all three knee-ring returns.
16:11 Eddie Howell keeps using the word 'close' in his press conferences, and it's getting
16:15 a bit of a running joke now. You know, what is 'close' when it comes to these injuries?
16:20 But yeah, Izak, obviously that groin injury is hampering him all season, but Willock and
16:25 Elliot Anderson, they've posted things on their Instagram accounts that would suggest
16:32 they're pretty close to return. So you'd think maybe, I mean, from what I heard, Willock
16:38 was mentioned at the end of February, so maybe not this week, but maybe the next two to three
16:43 weeks for an Anderson, hopefully the same.
16:46 Yeah, the Joe Willock one, Eddie Howell used the term last week as 'we don't know when
16:52 he'll be back until he's back'. And I think that sort of, in many ways, sums up how complex
16:57 his Achilles injury has been, because again, I'm no medical expert, but I know when you're
17:04 picking an Achilles issue, it can persist throughout your career. So I know in Newcastle,
17:10 I'll just try to manage that correctly and make sure when he does come back that he is
17:14 in the best condition. So yeah, Eddie Howell for weeks has said Joe Willock's close. I
17:23 say he used that term before. So I don't exactly know a fixed return date for Joe Willock,
17:30 but Eddie Howell was asked if he hopes he's back before the end of February. And this
17:36 obviously you've got Ballmouth on Saturday and you've got Arsenal and Blackburn to play.
17:40 I don't think Joe Willock going off house comments will be in contention for Arsenal,
17:45 but maybe towards the back end of the month, I might see a couple of cameo appearances
17:49 for him. But as I say, it's really difficult to confirm definitely because as I say, with
17:55 him it's a very complex issue. Elliot Anderson as well, that's been a very, very complex
18:00 issue. I'm trying to think of the exact term, but it's been a problem in his back, stress
18:06 fracture in his back, which Elliot Anderson now has been out since October, which is the
18:12 best part of five months or just under five months, which is a real shame for him because
18:19 if Elliot Anderson was fit, he would have been playing. He would have been playing that
18:23 midfield free and the emergence of Lewis Smiley wouldn't have been so strong because he would
18:28 have Elliot Anderson in that midfield free. So yeah, getting them two players back in
18:36 the midfield would obviously be a lot stronger because we spoke earlier about the midfield
18:42 at Nottingham Forest and how he's switching Bruno to play as number eight and potentially
18:49 look to play Sean Longstaff and Lewis Smiley as number six. I think that would be my preference
18:55 for that because I do think Bruno should go further forward. But it's so hard because
19:00 that midfield three has been the only free midfield for a long time now. So to get bodies
19:07 back in that position, I think Elliot Anderson, great option to have. But Joe Willock has
19:12 really kicked that midfield because at the minute, I think the disrespect of the likes
19:16 of Sean Longstaff and Lewis Smiley, but lack a lot of dynamism going forward.
19:22 There's not a lot of pace in that midfield, is there?
19:25 There isn't. It's probably one of the slowest midfields in the Premier League, to be honest.
19:30 And that's why over the last couple of months, the midfield and Newcastle's left-hand side
19:37 with Dan Burner, the lack of pace down that side has been targeted and has been bypassed
19:42 a lot of games, certainly over the last few weeks. I think Nottingham Forest on Boxing
19:48 Day, even Luton Town at home as well, just how easily that midfield has bypassed. I think
19:56 individually Lewis Smiley, Bruno Guimaraes and Sean Longstaff, individually have very
20:01 good seasons. But as a three, it just doesn't quite click and that's a real problem for
20:06 Eddie Howard. But as I say, I do think pushing Bruno forward and eventually getting Joe Willock
20:13 back is key to Newcastle hopefully finishing the season strong.
20:17 They face Bournemouth at home this weekend at the time of recording. The thing is, it's
20:32 been a bit of an odd time recently because not so long ago, the away form was really
20:37 quite poor and they couldn't buy a point, nevermind a win away from home. Now all of
20:42 a sudden they've won four away on the bounce, but then their home form has dipped.
20:47 And prior to that, they had a bit of an era of invincibility at home. They'd only lost
20:51 to Liverpool before Nottingham Forest came along on Boxing Day. So yeah, it's an interesting
20:56 one. Bournemouth obviously did the job over Newcastle back in, I think it was November
21:01 now. And so yeah, it should be a tough test for them, but one you'd sort of half expect
21:11 them to come through. I know we probably said that against Luton as well, but since the
21:16 Nottingham Forest win, that'll have inspired some more confidence as well. So yeah, surely
21:21 three points against Bournemouth are an offer, which if they were to get that, would really
21:26 once again boost their European chances, given some of the other teams slipping around them.
21:32 Aston Villa, I know that they're a good few points ahead of Newcastle, I think it's about
21:35 nine or 10, but they're going through a really rough patch at the moment. And so, you know,
21:40 just if they can keep winning games, Newcastle and Villa keep slipping up. I know it's a
21:44 long shot, but there's every chance.
21:46 Yeah, so if Newcastle want to finish in the top six or, you know, maybe even Hobbs or
21:52 some of the other hopes of potentially even finishing in the top four, because you mentioned
21:55 Aston Villa, they're their factor at the moment. I think there is a 10-point gap. So Newcastle
22:00 got a lot of points to make up, but the key to that is consistency and Newcastle haven't
22:04 found consistency this season. So you mentioned there, at the start of the season, Newcastle
22:09 United were winning every home game. Newcastle and Aston Villa had the best home record in
22:14 the division, managed to keep themselves in that top six, obviously over Christmas, Newcastle's
22:20 home form dipped. Now they've started to find a little bit of form on the road, but as they've
22:25 found a little bit of form on the road, the home form's dipped. So it's about finding
22:29 that balance and that consistency. So Newcastle need to start making the home record count
22:35 again because there's no good in proving the away record and then turn up at St James'
22:42 Park on a Saturday afternoon and draw a 4-4 in Luton Town at home. So they desperately
22:48 need that consistency if they want to go and finish in them European places. Ballmouth
22:54 is no easy test, to be honest, because I was down there for the early season meeting at
23:00 the Vitality Stadium and Ballmouth played Newcastle off the park. And I know, I think
23:04 that was probably the game where, or felt like the game where injuries came to a head.
23:11 You had Kieran Trippie out running, they were far enough to the game, you could see the
23:14 frustrations were really high. And I know, I think Newcastle came back after the international
23:20 break and had a decent record.
23:23 They went and hammered Chelsea first game back, I think 4-1.
23:25 Yeah, and I think they beat Manchester United in that period as well.
23:28 Yeah, so they came back alright, but yeah, it was a poor afternoon, as I say. You'll
23:34 know better, you were there, Jordan, so do a lap at Reed.
23:37 Yeah, no, it was brutal, to be honest. I think it was a 2-0, Dom's slanky double, but it
23:45 was 2-0 going on 5 or 6, to be honest. Trying to wrap my brains back, I can't remember
23:52 when Newcastle United created a Nicola Iacocca opportunity. I think I remember in that game,
23:56 Miguel Amron went off quite early doors, that disrupted. Newcastle, Lewis Manning actually
24:02 made his full Premier League debut that day as well.
24:05 It's strange looking back at these results, because it almost feels like Newcastle have
24:09 played two different seasons, where you beat PSG 4-1 at home, you beat Manchester United
24:15 at home, you beat Arsenal at home. But then you've also got the results where you're losing
24:20 2-0 at Bournemouth, you're going to Luton Town, getting beat.
24:26 It's been a funny old season where Newcastle have lacked consistency, but I put out a tweet
24:34 the other day and I couldn't believe it, that Newcastle, after 24 games this season, are
24:39 only five points worse off than 24 games last season, which I find incredible.
24:46 So it just shows that Newcastle aren't too far away, and that if they can put a run of
24:53 results together, they will be up there come the end of the season.
24:57 But you've got to look at the context of this season, and for many parts it hasn't been
25:04 encouraging at all. It's been a difficult season, whether that comes with European football
25:10 injuries I think have had a big impact.
25:12 But now towards the end of the season, there's obviously a reduced amount of games, they're
25:17 hopefully going to get players back from injury which I mentioned, and that should hopefully
25:20 give Newcastle a good platform to finish as high as they can, because the European places
25:26 don't feel too far away.
25:30 I'm talking about the form, I suppose the form in the New Year has actually been alright.
25:35 That hasn't changed, compared to December for example.
25:39 I suppose it has. If you take a point from Aston Villa and then go and beat Luton Town
25:43 on Saturday, it's almost like you view it very differently.
25:50 But I say because the points that they've lost in the early part of the season, the
25:56 points that I need to make up to challenge the European places, they desperately need
26:01 some consistency.
26:02 So hopefully that starts on Saturday against Ballmouth.
26:07 As I say, I think the system still needs a little bit of a rethink from House Park, but
26:13 getting the likes of Joe Willock back etc, that system that's served them so well for
26:18 a long time, you can probably stick with that.
26:21 But at this moment in time, I do think it needs a little bit of a rethink.
26:24 As I keep saying, I do think pushing Bruno further forward will be vitally important
26:29 to that.
26:30 There's still an awful lot to play for.
26:33 We won't mention the Blackburn FA Cup game this week, we'll probably get onto that in
26:35 the next week or two, but obviously that's a big game in itself.
26:39 And as you say, consistency is key, which they had last season, and yet, as we've mentioned,
26:43 only five points worse off.
26:45 And so it's still an awful lot to play for in the league.
26:48 And I think what's favourable in Newcastle's case is that their run to the end of the season
26:52 is, I know there's no easy game, but there's certainly more favourable than perhaps some
26:59 of the other teams that are around them, given Newcastle's start to the season being so hard
27:03 in terms of the games they began the campaign with.
27:06 They're going to end them with a lot of the teams either below or around them.
27:10 There's not a lot of teams, they've played Man City twice, they've played Liverpool twice,
27:16 Arsenal, they'll play their second game against them in the next couple of weeks.
27:20 And then all of a sudden, that's the top three out of the way completely.
27:23 They've played Aston Villa twice.
27:25 It's the games against West Ham, Brentford, Crystal Palace, all them to come, which reading
27:31 you've got something to be targeting.
27:33 And if they do, as you say, get a run together and other teams around them falter a little
27:37 bit, as some of them have been, there's every chance that Newcastle can finish the season
27:40 really strongly, especially with players coming back as well and just giving them those options
27:44 off the bench.
27:45 And you never know, we might even be off to Wembley soon as well, Jordan.
27:47 It'll be very nice.
27:48 Yeah.
27:49 Yeah.
27:50 Sorry, I mean, just on Wembley, that's really important in the season, to be honest, because
27:54 you beat Blackburn and then...
27:57 You're one game from Wembley.
27:58 Yeah, you're one game away.
27:59 And if you can end the season at Wembley, whether it be a semi-final or ideally a final,
28:05 I think that changes the view on the season, I guess.
28:10 If you finish the season and you finish round seventh and you say, "Well, we've got to win
28:13 the FA Cup final," I don't think many people can argue with that.
28:17 So I think that FA Cup almost takes more importance over the Premier League.
28:24 And I know not everyone will agree with that, but you're in football to win trophies and
28:28 you can't stand on a trophy for so long.
28:31 If they can get to Wembley again, that'll be a great achievement.
28:36 So yeah, hopefully they can do that.
28:39 Yeah, I think given the context of the season, everything that's happened and gone on, whether
28:43 it be injuries, suspensions, and poor results at times, a top seven or top six finish and
28:50 a Wembley appearance, given everything, would be actually progress, in my opinion.
28:55 I know obviously last season you have a Wembley appearance and a top four finish, but given
28:59 everything and obviously this season they've played in the Champions League, I think it's
29:04 still progress.
29:05 And then they have a summer to build on that because you're always going to have that difficult
29:08 sort of second season, as it were, given playing in Europe.
29:12 Teams find that difficult.
29:13 Look at Leicester when they won the league the next season, when they won the Champions
29:16 League, they found it really quite tough.
29:18 So it's not the case that a lot of sides that are new entering the top four then remain
29:25 in the top four sort of the season after.
29:27 They all have that drop off.
29:28 That was mentioned in the documentary on Amazon.
29:34 But anyway, if we get on to our final topic of the recording, I think it's one that's
29:45 quite topical.
29:47 It's been sort of breaking all of the X or Twitter or whatever you want to call it these
29:51 days.
29:52 Dan Ashworth Jordan is an interesting situation.
29:54 Of course, reports would suggest that he is going to leave Newcastle after only 20 months
30:00 in the sporting director role to go to Manchester United to link up with his friend, Dave Brailsford,
30:07 who is going into Manchester United alongside Jim Ratcliffe.
30:13 It's a bit of a blow for Newcastle, but is it as big of a blow as some people are making
30:17 out?
30:18 Yeah, I've seen a very mixed response online.
30:21 I've seen some people call it a massive blow and some people I think less so.
30:27 But I'm probably in the camp that it is a big blow for Newcastle because 20 months ago
30:32 they employed Dan Ashworth as sporting director to oversee big changes at the football club
30:37 for a long term.
30:38 Dan Ashworth was the man that was going to make this football club for the next 10 years,
30:43 restructuring Newcastle United behind the scenes and making them a European-English
30:48 giant again.
30:49 So to lose that, as I said, no one would have envisaged losing Dan Ashworth that amount
30:54 of time 20 months in.
30:58 You think about the work that he's done so far, the restructuring behind the scenes in
31:02 terms of staffing structures, academies, bolstering the academy scouting system.
31:10 He's done all that now but won't have the time or doesn't want to see out the job.
31:18 So then someone's going to have to come in now and almost pick up the work that either
31:22 Dan Ashworth has done or implement their own structure.
31:28 So it's a really difficult time to lose him.
31:32 In terms of what he's done for the club, I think a lot of fans will look at some of the
31:38 transfers that he's negotiated and think, well, he hasn't really shown his full potential
31:46 what he's done at Brighton, which I would tend to agree with.
31:50 But I just think that behind the scenes structure and what he was implementing in Newcastle
31:54 is ongoing.
31:58 And to lose that and have someone else have to come in and pick it up is a move that Newcastle
32:05 United's owners ideally would have avoided.
32:09 You want to settle a football club, they had that with Dan Ashworth, they're now going
32:15 to have to go out and find a replacement because it's pretty certain that he's going to go.
32:21 It just depends on how Newcastle United negotiate.
32:25 In many ways, it's an unlikely FFP boost in many ways because the compensation fee that
32:32 Manchester United are going to have to pay, I don't know the exact amount, but again,
32:36 I use that word significant.
32:37 Even when Manchester United negotiate that compensation fee, Dan Ashworth has 12 months
32:45 gardening leave as well.
32:47 So then Manchester United are going to have to pay more.
32:48 But that was really like gardening leave because he's done a lot of gardening.
32:50 Yeah, he did.
32:51 He was on gardening leave for probably around six months before he joined Newcastle, didn't
32:56 he?
32:57 His lawn must be looking fantastic.
32:58 I do like the term gardening leave.
33:02 It does make you think if they're planting your back garden.
33:05 So yeah, Man United are going to have to pay an awful lot of money to A) get Dan Ashworth
33:09 and B) to get him now.
33:11 So Newcastle are in a very, very strong position in terms of negotiations to get as much money
33:17 as they can out of Manchester United, which I think they should do.
33:21 I've seen fans mention it online, but you go back to January 2022, Newcastle United
33:28 want to sign Jesse Lingard, I think there was a hefty loan fee that Manchester United
33:33 wanted for Lingard, priced Newcastle United out of the move.
33:36 OK, it didn't matter because Newcastle went up to stay in the Premier League anyway.
33:42 But it just shows that Manchester United at that time were willing to do Newcastle United
33:47 no favours.
33:48 So I think Newcastle United should return the favour and do Manchester United absolutely
33:52 no favours at all and get every penny out of Manchester United that they can for Dan
33:57 Ashworth.
33:58 It seems strange, isn't it, though, talking about a director of football or a sporting
34:02 director being sort of transferred like a player in the sense that it's going to give
34:07 an FFP boost and we're going to sort of squeeze every penny out of Man United in the same
34:12 way as you mentioned there they did or tried to do for us, for Jesse Lingard.
34:17 So yeah, I think that's a very good point, actually, which I hadn't considered given
34:20 how they acted back then.
34:22 So yeah, I think it is a shame.
34:26 I don't doubt there'll be a whole host of other potential candidates who will want the
34:30 Newcastle job, given that it's already sort of progressing and progressing nicely.
34:36 Newcastle are all of a sudden a bit of a figure in English football again.
34:41 And obviously last season qualified for the Champions League, got to a cup final this
34:45 season, tad lower, but still progressing along very nicely.
34:50 And obviously with a lot of good players in the team as well.
34:52 So yeah, I'm quite convinced there'll be a lot of people quite happy to take that job.
34:57 And from what I remember rightly, when Dan Ashworth came in, there were plenty of other
35:00 candidates that Newcastle had trying to get the job back then.
35:04 So I can't imagine it'll be any different this time.
35:06 But yeah, it is a bit of a blow.
35:09 Obviously, his reputation precedes him, given what he did at the England set up, for example,
35:15 and Brighton.
35:16 But as I say, I think it's a blow, but I don't think it's the end of the world.
35:23 And I don't think it'll stop Newcastle getting to where they want to be in the long term.
35:28 I think he's just one man and the football club is more than just one man.
35:35 And I think that's just my positive spin I'm trying to put on it a little bit.
35:39 And I know some fans probably disagree, some fans will agree, but it is a blow, but regardless.
35:44 Anyway, Jordan, we'll wrap up this podcast here.
35:48 We will be back next week following the Bournemouth game.
35:52 Hopefully, Newcastle have got another three points on the board by that point.
35:56 And then we'll be looking, I believe it's towards Arsenal, which is a horrid kickoff
36:01 time, eight o'clock on a Saturday night.
36:03 Jordan, I don't sort of envy you going to that.
36:07 Having said that though, following that is the Blackburn Cup game on Tuesday night, quarter
36:12 to eight, which is also not fun.
36:13 And I am going to that as well.
36:16 So that'll be nice and fun.
36:19 But we'll preview both of those games next week in the next podcast.
36:24 But until then, we will catch you very soon.
36:26 [BLANK_AUDIO]