Sports
Preview – Newcastle United vs Brentford: Howe takes charge of first game as Magpies boss
Match Preview:
A winless Newcastle welcome newly promoted Brentford to St James’ Park on Saturday afternoon as Eddie Howe takes charge of his first match.
The visitors have enjoyed a decent start to their campaign and sit in 14th with 12 points, five places above their opponents. The 3pm clash is a must-win for Eddie Howe as his side find themselves firmly in the relegation zone and in desperate need of improvement on the pitch.
The fans will be hoping the appointment of the former Bournemouth boss will give the team a much needed lift and help to change the fortunes on the pitch. The Mags find themselves five points from safety in 19th position.
The decision to bring Howe to Tyneside came prior to the international break and signals the start of a new era for Newcastle following the Saudi-led takeover of the club last month.
In the build-up to Saturday’s match, the club have made some coaching staff changes. Interim coach Graeme Jones, first team development coach Ben Dawson and goalkeeping coach Simon Smith remain at the club and all form part of Howe’s new set-up.
Brentford travel North off the back of a 2-1 home defeat to bottom-club Norwich who claimed their first win of the season. The Canaries went on to part company with Daniel Farke and now battle for survival with new manager Dean Smith – recently sacked by Aston Villa.
Thomas Frank will want an instant response to his sides disappointing defeat last time out.
The Bees have lost their last 4 league games, all by small margins, and will be hoping to put their poor form behind them at St. James Park. Newcastle are still winless and go into the match having lost 3-0 to Chelsea last time out at home. The Mags will be looking to build on the well-fought point away on the south-coast in the previous game-week.
The last meeting between the two sides was the quarter-final of the 2020 Carabao Cup which saw Brentford come out 1-0 winners after an extremely poor Newcastle performance. To some, this game was the turning point for Steve Bruce as fans began to question his abilities as manager.
Former Magpie Ivan Toney is set to feature for the away side and will be looking to prove a point on Saturday afternoon. The English striker made just two appearances for the Geordie’s and played a key role in Brentford’s promotion to the top-flight. He finished with a staggering 31 goals last season in the Championship but is yet to replicate his form in the Premier League – will he save his best for his former club?
Credit: Brentford FC Instagram – Bees prepare to head North.
This weekends fixture is the first of 3 home games against ‘lesser’ teams in which Howe will be expecting to pick up some much needed points. It will be an impressive feat if the new boss can guide Newcastle to safety and with the January transfer window still nine games away its important he gets off to a solid start.
The team from Tyneside face a tough trip to the Emirates following the visit of Brentford, before games against fellow strugglers Norwich and Burnley both at St James Park.
Despite a large transfer budget available to the Magpies in January, performances need to improve quickly otherwise any additions to the squad may come too late as the current squad heads towards relegation.
The game involves two of the least in-form sides in the Premier League as both teams are desperate to claim a much-needed victory.
The sides have battled it out on 12 previous occasions with Newcastle winning 8 and Brentford claiming the spoils on 4 occasions – there is yet to be a draw.
Team News
Ryan Fraser trained as normal this week after leaving the Scotland camp with a calf problem. Defender Paul Dummnet remains unavailable and is yet to feature this season. Martin Dubravka could make his first start of the season.
For Brentford, David Raya and full-back Josh Dasilva are out until 2022. Danish midfielder Mathias Jenson tested positive for covid last week and was unable to join the national squad, but could feature on Saturday. Kristoffer Ajer faces a few more weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring problem as Mads Sorensen and Shandon Baptise also miss out. Yoane Wissa may return.
Howe is known for his attacking style of play and is expected to revert to a 4-4-2 formation with Allan St. Maximin and Callum Wilson as focal points up-front.
Form:
Newcastle: D L L D L D
Brentford: D W L L L L
Potential lineups:
NUFC: Dubravka, Manquillo, Clark, Lascelles, Ritchie, Almiron, Hayden, Shelvey, Joelinton, Wilson, Saint-Maximin.
Brentford: Fernandez, Goode, Pinnock, Jansson, Canos, Janelt, Norgaard, Onyeka, Henry, Toney, Mbeumo.
What are your pre-match thoughts? Who would make your starting 11 for Howe’s first game in charge?
Join in the conversation and have your say…
footballinsider247 are reporting that the main shirt sponsor slot for Newcastle United is expected to be filled by airline SAUDI, who sponsored Newcastle’s mid-season tour of their owners’ homeland in December.
They state ‘This site revealed in February that there is frustration at St James’ Park that they have inherited a kit deal with Castore worth just £5m per year with no break clause and several seasons left to run.’
Newcastle’s recently appointed CEO Darren Eales has already previously expressed that the club at looking at all commercial opportunities and fans on Twitter were keen to mock up their expectation for the new shirts, see below and let us know your thoughts and also see our below video on how NUFC can increase commercial avenues..
Eddie Howe’s team are currently in a strong position to achieve a European slot which would increase revenue into the club allowing more spend whilst staying within Financial Fair Play which is something Howe has spoken about on several occasions as they look to stay within. If the club do reach a European slot it should help significantly with recruitment in the summer by making it a more attractive proposition to any incoming targets.
What do you think of the kits – let us know on our facebook page and join in on the conversation.
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Credit: NUFC kit concept – twitter
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Amazon Prime are currently filming behind-the-scenes footage at Newcastle United for a new documentary.
The docu-series will provide an insight into the club and its efforts to secure a top-four finish and a piece of silverware in the 2022-23 season.
Reports today revealed that camera crews have been filming a four-part documentary for their All or Nothing series. Sky Sports’ Keith Downie confirmed that the series will cover the club and the new owners as they attempt to qualify for the Champions League and win a trophy.
The All or Nothing series has previously documented other Premier League Clubs including Manchester City, Arsenal, and Spurs as well as the Brazilian national team, Juventus, and the All Blacks of rugby.
Something I mentioned last night on @tfNUFC: Camera crews have been filming behind-the-scenes at Newcastle United for a four-part documentary to be shown on Amazon.
The series will chart the club & its owners as they attempt to win a trophy & qualify for The Champ League #NUFC— Keith Downie (@SkySports_Keith) February 8, 2023
Newcastle face Manchester United in the Carabao Cup final on February 26 at Wembley.
🗓️ 26.02.23@ManUtd 🆚 @NUFC #EFL | #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/V23zWPDoxP
— Carabao Cup (@Carabao_Cup) February 1, 2023
The Magpies have featured three times in Europe’s most prestigious competition.
Most recently in the 2003-04 season as they reached the third qualifying round, eventually losing on penalties to Serbian side FK Partizan.
The season before the Toon finished third in the 2002-03 Champions League group stages, winning twice against Bayer Leverkusen and drawing with Inter Milan 2-2 at the San Siro. The lineup that night; Given, Solano, O’Brien, Dyer, Shearer (C), Bellamy, Speed, Griffin, Hughes, Dabizas and Viana.
The series is expected to air later this year and will be available on Amazon Prime.
Based on previous seasons, you can expect exclusive access to training sessions, team meetings and match days, giving fans an in-depth look at what goes on behind the scenes on a day-to-day basis at Newcastle United.
It is set to be an incredible storyline and one that should provide fans with some real insight into what it takes to compete at the top level of professional football.
What do you think Newcastle fans?
Does this excite you or do you stand more with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp who once said the cameras could be intrusive to the dressing room when he turned down the offer from Amazon In 2018?
Join the conversation on our Facebook page…
Everton have made a £40million bid with £5m in add-ons to sign Connor Gallagher from Chelsea.
This comes after Newcastle completed the signing of Anthony Gordon, the club’s second most expensive transfer behind Alexander Isak.
Everton received an initial fee of £40m plus add-ons that could increase the deal to £45m.
EXCL: Everton have submitted a bid to sign Conor Gallagher from Chelsea. It’s £40m proposal plus £5m add ons. 🚨🔵 #EFC
Chelsea will make a decision soon as there are also other clubs interested in Gallagher — and player has to decide his future too. pic.twitter.com/xZeuGqaR01
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 30, 2023
The Toffees currently sit 19th in the Premier League and are looking to reinvest the money from the Gordon deal to sign much-needed players under newly appointed manager Sean Dyche.
But, multiple sources have reported today that Gallagher is not actively pushing for a move and has no intention of going to Goodison Park. However, with Chelsea having met the record-breaking €120m release clause for World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez, Gallagher may be forced to leave the club if the transfer is complete.
🚨| Conor Gallagher is not interested in a move to Everton 🔵 pic.twitter.com/0CYzXjBoBd
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) January 30, 2023
This leaves Newcastle an option as the player would prefer a move to a top-six club.
This morning, Eddie Howe said, “We’ll see what we can do to try & bring a player in. There’s no guarantees. In terms of permanent signings, it will be very difficult. We’ll look at a potential loan. But it’s got to be the right player & not one for the sake of it”.
Due to financial fair play, the only way Newcastle could sign the player is through a loan, with an obligation to buy the player for at least £45m, the same price they paid for Anthony Gordon.
Gallagher has been playing regular Premier League football over the last two seasons. Since returning to his parent club Chelsea, the 22-year-old has been linked with a move away to numerous Premier League clubs.
Last season he was named Crystal Palace’s Player of the Season by their fans. He also won the Player of the Month award twice, Goal of the Month once, and was awarded the Young Player of Year at the 2022 London Football Awards.
In the same season, he made 36 appearances scoring eight goals and registering three assists that earned Palace a 12th-place finish, one point behind Newcastle.
Have Your Say!
Would you want Newcastle to sign Conor Gallagher?
Does he start?
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