Newcastle United’s season threatened to get off to a sour note both on and off the pitch.
A frustrating transfer window came to an underwhelming end with Newcastle not having signed any significant first-team improvements.
That is not to suggest Lloyd Kelly and William Osula are bad signings by any means, though surely few would doubt that they weren’t the names many people were expecting to arrive amid talk of a big rebuild.
Indeed, the window was so quiet that club legend Alan Shearer publicly declared owners PIF had “failed” manager Eddie Howe.
Now, there may have been mitigating factors as to why the owners did not splash the cash. In June, they only narrowly avoided a ten-point deduction for almost breaching the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
It must be stressed PIF have been saying they remain ambitious at St James’ Park too, so perhaps the lack of spending in that particular window is understandable – albeit still frustrating.
Still, it gave the Newcastle United manager an awful lot to do this season. Howe had to pick up a team who limped through some of last season and get them to go again without much in the way of fresh faces to liven things up.
Newcastle, of course, missed out on the signing of Marc Guehi – as well as the new right-winger they reportedly craved.
That left the defence and the attack with a lack of options but, thankfully, Howe has been able to paper over the cracks.
How Eddie Howe has papered over the cracks for PIF this season
Howe’s work with Lewis Hall has allowed Dan Burn to move into a central position, covering for both the failure to sign Guehi and the long-term injury to Sven Botman.
There were initially doubts as to Hall’s defending but Howe has brought the player along a considerable amount, to the point where he’s now an England international.
As a result, Burn has moved alongside Fabian Schar and has generally impressed. Interestingly, even without either Guehi or Botman, only Nottingham Forest and Liverpool have conceded fewer times than Newcastle after eleven Premier League games (11).
Then there’s the right winger.
Miguel Almiron and Jacob Murphy may have their uses but it would be hard to suggest they’d regularly start for another team pushing for European qualification.
Luckily, Howe has come up with a number of solutions to compensate for the lack of a new face in that position. Anthony Gordon has been playing there and put in a fine cross for Alexander Isak during the win over Arsenal. It’s a gamble to move him out of his preferred position but it certainly appears to have helped give the team more balance.
Harvey Barnes and Joelinton have been able to come in on the left too, with both making significant contributions. The latter even moved over to the right for the win over Forest and scored a brilliant goal.
Howe has found internal solutions at time when they were needed most.
Whatever reasons PIF have for not spending this summer, they have to be thanking their manager for papering over the cracks. To have done so only months after being linked with a move away from the club is all the more impressive.
Flying high in the Premier League right now, Newcastle have Howe to thank.
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