Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton believes things are starting to become ‘underwhelming’ at Newcastle United.
This season has been full of incredible moments for Eddie Howe‘s side, but it has also been massively disappointing at times, particularly throughout the winter.
The Champions League was a fantastic experience, but it ended at the earliest possible opportunity. And it looks like we will not be in it next season given how we are performing in the Premier League.
Away from the pitch, Dan Ashworth has turned his back on the club and wants to head to Manchester United. He is now on gardening leave, and will head to Old Trafford as soon as the Red Devils get their chequebook out and pay Newcastle the compensation they want. At the minute, the figure they are looking for is £20million.
The situation on and off the pitch has got alarm bells ringing for Chris Sutton, who has expressed his concern over what is going on at St James’ Park.
Chris Sutton is concerned about Newcastle United’s situation
Sutton has been speaking about Newcastle United’s current situation on the It’s All Kicking Off podcast.
“I just think Newcastle are an interesting club at this moment in time,” he said.
“The longer the season has gone on the more underwhelming that things have become. Even the Dan Ashworth stuff is not a good look for Newcastle.
“When Eddie Howe went in and the turnaround which has happened, the way the club have evolved, I still really enjoy watching Newcastle but they were all of a sudden the richest club in the world and naturally comes the mindset can they become the biggest club in the world? But they have fallen away on the pitch this season and the fact that the infrastructure, they are losing Dan Ashworth, who is the brain behind it all, isn’t a good look for Newcastle as far as I can see.”
An overreaction on Newcastle from Chris Sutton
It seems like a bit of an overreaction from Sutton, although it comes with the territory of overachieving last season. To go from fourth to eighth in the Premier League looks like a massive drop off, but it was always going to be incredibly tough to repeat last season’s accomplishment.
This season may look like a setback, but we are probably only a few points from where we realistically should be. It just looks worse because of last season, but we have had a lot more matches to play and an endless stream of injuries.
As for the Ashworth situation, it is just a perfect storm taking him from St James’ Park to Old Trafford. It is a great opportunity for him there, and it is just a shame that he is not going to see out the Newcastle United project.
But someone else will finish what he started.
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