SEASON GETS OFF TO A GOOD START Magpies begin as they mean to go on
It’s early days, of course, but this felt like a glimpse into Newcastle’s future – a day after Eddie Howe signed a new long-term contract with the club.
Newcastle made real strides out of possession last season, becoming a nastier, harder to beat outfit, but Howe and his staff have worked on what they can do on the ball in pre-season in an effort to become more comfortable in possession. Newcastle, after all, only had more of the ball than the opposition on nine occasions in the Premier League under Howe last season, averaging just 41% of possession in the process.
Howe wants his side to stamp their authority on the game moving forward – pressing high, playing out from the back and becoming more dominant with the ball – and Newcastle did just that against Forest: racking up 62% possession, 23 shots and 11 corners. In the first half alone, 205 of Newcastle’s 261 passes were successful, an unimaginable statistic not so long ago, with the impressive Bruno Guimaraes particularly influential in the middle of the park. Forest, in contrast, were unable to even force Nick Pope into a save and, such was Newcastle’s dominance, the hosts should have won this game by a far greater margin.
Most strikingly, in contrast to a year ago, when Newcastle flagged in an opening day defeat against West Ham, the Magpies had the bank of match fitness to finish the game strongly and build on Fabian Schar’s opener as Callum Wilson made it 2-0 with a clever finish late on. Yes, Forest may be a newly-promoted side, but these games are never straightforward on the opening weekend, particularly with Steve Cooper’s side having so many new faces, and Newcastle have not been good starters in recent years. However, after failing to win a game until December last season, the Magpies are already up and running.
Eddie Howe felt Sven Botman was ready to play. You only had to look at the new signing’s performances in pre-season to realise why, whether it was Botman’s composure in possession, his technical ability or the sheer stature of the 6ft 4in defender.
However, no one is guaranteed their place in this side – not even Howe’s most expensive summer signing – and the Newcastle boss instead decided to ease Botman in on Saturday as Dan Burn got the nod at left-sided centreback. Explaining his decision ahead of the game, Howe said he ‘wanted to go with some stability from the back last year’ as Burn partnered Fabian Schar in the heart of defence.
It proved a smart decision and Burn and Schar quickly picked up from where they left off last season. The former made crucial interventions to stop both Jesse Lingard and Brennan Johnson in their tracks in dangerous situations and when Newcastle needed a moment of inspiration in the final third, the latter was there to provide it after the break.
Picking up the ball 25 yards out, Schar let fly with a screamer into the top corner that left Dean Henderson with no chance – and took the roof off St James’ Park. It was the perfect response to Botman’s arrival from both Schar and, indeed, the solid Burn. Botman did eventually get the chance to make his Premier League debut, after replacing Bruno Guimaraes late on, but the new centre-back may face a little wait to get his chance from the off – just as Bruno did following his move from France earlier this year.
Martin Dubravka may have kept hold of the number one shirt itself, but it was summer signing Nick Pope who started the season as Newcastle’s new first-choice goalkeeper.
Whereas in a previous era, when one Newcastle goalkeeper first learned he was going to be dropped in the media, Howe made sure to speak to his players ahead of naming his XI, recognising that ‘big decisions need to be communicated.’ While Howe stopped short of going into too much detail with those who missed out, the Newcastle boss gave them the key reasons why.
There really was little to separate the two shot-stoppers going into the new campaign but Pope’s ability to rush off his line and sweep up may have just given him the edge as there are few better in the Premier League at doing just that. Pope could not have asked for a more straightforward debut as he started with a clean sheet.
Supporters had been back inside the stadium the previous week – more than 87,000 fans clicked through the turnstiles over the course of two days for the friendlies against Atalanta and Athletic Bilbao – but this was always going to be a special atmosphere for Newcastle’s opening Premier League game of the season. For the first time in a long while, after all, supporters went into a new campaign with genuine optimism. Wor Flags captured that feeling with another stunning display as Nina Simone played over the public address system and a giant banner was unfurled in the Gallowgate reading: ‘It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for NUFC and we’re feeling good.’
Going by the atmosphere before kick-off, you would not have thought this was a game between a side who finished 11th last season and a newly-promoted outfit – even if it was Forest’s first Premier League fixture since 1999. Newcastle have only lost one league game at St James’ under Howe in 2022 and that was against Liverpool. Saturday was a reminder of why home advantage will continue to be a weapon for the Magpies with 54 more points to play
for at St James.’