Wednesday night’s win over Paris Saint-Germain was surely one of the greatest nights in Newcastle United’s history.
The wins over Barcelona and Manchester United are also up there in terms of recent times but for Newcastle to put PSG to the sword so convincingly on the first Champions League game at St James’ Park for two decades was quite the statement.
While there is surely so much more to come, it proved a high point for the Eddie Howe era thus far. Few would doubt that was his best result as Newcastle manager.
Not one to get carried away, one journalist noted Howe and Jason Tindall’s reaction to Miguel Almiron’s opener.
What Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall did when Newcastle scored their first goal
Indeed, rather than get caught up in the emotion, both Howe and Tindall remained calm on the touchline, reports the Daily Mail’s Ian Ladyman.
“As Almiron celebrated wildly by the corner flag, Howe and his assistant Jason Tindall were rather calmer. It was clear that, for them, this was merely the sight of a plan coming together,” he wrote in his match report.
Their game plan worked to perfection
Newcastle aren’t just in the Champions League for a holiday, nor is it a free-hit. The levels of expectation at the club these days ensure that cannot be the case.
Howe and Tindall are serious operators and that kind of reaction would suggest they feel confident enough in their game plan that it was almost expected their team would get chances.
Whatever they said to the players behind the scenes certainly worked. Newcastle, aside from a tense opening few minutes, were broadly excellent on the night and could well have scored more than the four goals they ultimately plundered.
A fantastic and historic night at St James’ Park. Thanks to Howe and Tindall, the next one does not feel a world away.
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