Newcastle United entered the new Premier League season almost unrecognizable from the team that finished 12th last year, with a new manager, several young arrivals and its three biggest stars gone.
The departures of Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon have removed a huge amount of proven quality and experience, while Kieran Trippier’s exit added another veteran to the list of departed players.
Magpies legend Alan Shearer, via Betfair, believes all those losses will make Matthias Jaissle’s
first campaign at St. James’ Park particularly difficult, even though they were close to earn three points in their MD1 game against Liverpool, only missing out thanks to a 99th-minute equalizer.
“I think it will be a very, very different season,” Shearer said. “I think it will be a challenging season because I think if it was that easy to sell your big players and then replace them with younger, energetic, hungry young players, then everyone would do that.”
Shearer, however, understands Newcastle’s decision to change its approach after finishing 12th even with Tonali, Gordon and Guimaraes available. The former striker’s bigger concern is whether the Magpies have adequately replaced the personalities and leadership that disappeared alongside their ability.
“What you are losing is your characters and your leaders, and you’re replacing them with young, inexperienced players,” Shearer said. “Not only young and inexperienced players, but young inexperienced players in the Premier League. That would be my concern more than anything, losing the leaders and the characters.”
Newcastle still has experienced figures such as new team captain Dan Burn, savvy defender Fabian Schar and stout midfielder Joelinton, but Jaissle himself is entering unfamiliar territory after replacing Eddie Howe this summer. Shearer believes the 38-year-old will consequently require patience and significant support.
“We’ve got a young, inexperienced manager who’s going to need all the help and all the backing that we have to give him,” Shearer said. “Ultimately, I don’t expect us to finish in a European spot.”
More specifically, the Newcastle legend predicted the Magpies will finish the Premier League campaign in 14th place, behind clubs including Everton, Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest, Brighton, Leeds and Brentford… while placing Newcastle only one position above Sunderland. Aye!
While a sobering prediction, it cannot be said it’s not a realistic one after the scale of Newcastle’s summer overhaul. Shearer’s message is equally clear regarding Jaissle, as he believes judging the new manager without accounting for everything Newcastle has lost would ignore the size of the rebuilding job he inherited.
Do you agree with Shearer’s 14th-place finish projection for the Magpies? Let us know about that and your personal prediction in the comments section below.
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