Revealed: Newcastle’s players summit to turn season around

Newcastle’s players held a passionate and impromptu post-match summit in the St James’ Park dressing room following last week’s 3-2 defeat by Brentford in which they confronted their own shortcomings.

Confidential can reveal that captain Bruno Guimaraes spoke to the group and was supported by other senior players such as Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn and Jacob Murphy after a last-gasp loss that made it three defeats on the spin and one win inside 90 minutes in nine matches.

As a collective, they discussed the need to improve and agreed that they could not wait for information and instruction – it was their job to bring it all together. There was recognition of the noise that had been starting to circle manager Eddie Howe and a desire to put that right at Tottenham on Tuesday, which they duly did in a 2-1 win.

Sources say the emotion of the post-game celebrations in north London was linked to the players coming good on what they had vowed to do on Saturday night.

I asked Howe afterwards about his own release of emotion in front of the away fans, and he said: ‘It was the fact I was pushed to the front and didn’t have any choice – it’s not really my style!’

Howe was referencing Guimaraes and Trippier nudging him towards the supporters for recognition, which he then called, ‘a special connection, and one I’m grateful is still there’. 

Latest on Bruno and Miley injuries

On Guimaraes, there was still extreme caution today on the hamstring injury that forced the Brazilian off in stoppage time at Tottenham.

Sources say the extent of the problem will be known later on Thursday after further checks, but the vibe detected is that he will miss Saturday’s FA Cup trip to Aston Villa. 

Beyond that, a six-hour flight to Baku for next week’s Champions League play-off first leg against Qarabag would also seem unwise, given the nature of the suspected problem.

Meanwhile, it’s understood Lewis Miley will also miss Villa as he continues to have scans every few days on the dead leg that has proved more serious than first thought. The 19-year-old suffered the injury at PSG last month and it’s likely he will need another week before being ready to return.

Inside Saudi plans for multi-club network 

Newcastle staff have been told to prepare for expansion into a multi-club model, in the biggest indicator yet that a Saudi-owned network will enter mainland Europe.

And that could come as soon as this year, with work ongoing to identify the right clubs from a football and financial perspective, including in both Belgium and France.

Given one of the primary motivations behind the model is the ability to buy and develop overseas players under the age of 18, Confidential understands that academy staff have recently been briefed on the plans.

Post-Brexit, Premier League clubs can no longer sign players from abroad until they have turned 18. It means Newcastle, despite extensive knowledge of the continent’s best 16- and 17-year-olds, risk missing out on those players.

For example, one young star mentioned to me last year was AIK’s exciting striker Kevin Filling. Newcastle’s talent spotters rate him highly but, because he is 17, the likelihood is the Swede will end up at a bigger club on the continent this summer. 

Alexander Isak was 17 when he left AIK for Borussia Dortmund, and clubs such as the German giants know that they have to swoop before Premier League rivals enter the race.

A multi-club model, such as the one being pursued by Newcastle, opens up the possibility of players being housed elsewhere and also used to develop loan players. 

Sporting director Ross Wilson and head of football strategy Jack Ross are central to the planned expansion, along with PIF representatives involved in the running of the club.

Howe blow for Villa tie 

Howe and his team have had to scrap plans to train at St James’ Park in preparation for the FA Cup tie at Aston Villa.

It was their intention to train at the stadium on Friday ahead of the trip to the Midlands. However, because of the relentless rain in the North East, the threat of damage to the pitch means they will instead use their Benton base for the final session before the fourth-round clash.

Training at St James’ is a ploy Howe likes to use every now and again. It provides the players with a change of scenery, increases comfort and familiarity and, for drills such as set-pieces, puts them in a stadium environment rather than an opening training field.

Toon on hunt for security chief 

Newcastle are looking for a new security chief to take the lead on the protection of players and staff across multiple sites, including St James’ Park and the training ground.

The director role will be the most senior security position within the club and will also be responsible for cyber protection.

Reporting to chief operating officer Brad Miller, they will be tasked with keeping the club’s executives aware of current threat levels and developing protocols in the event of security incidents.

The club have recently beefed up security around the media entrance, and there is now a steward with a clipboard who ticks off your name.

Mind your language, lads 

One area the current security and matchday team need to address is the conduct of adults in the Level 7 Family Enclosure.

This has been a concern brought to Confidential’s attention by several readers this season, and there was another unpleasant example during last weekend’s game against Brentford.

Two male adults were in the company of what was said to be a 17-year-old boy (hence their eligibility for the section) and their language was so bad that several parents nearby complained to the stewards. One lady chose to leave the game with her young son.

The stewards, I’m told, spoke to those involved but did not remove them. The abusive language, largely aimed at the team’s players, continued throughout, spoiling the matchday experience for the majority in that area of the ground.

Stewards should have the power and conviction to remove fans when the complaints are so widespread, especially when it is impacting children.

Sixty-eight thousand at St James’? Not so fast 

I thought best to clear up confusion over one column item from last week, when I wrote how Newcastle had finally committed, on the record, to the capacity of a new stadium not going beyond 65-68,000.

Chief executive David Hopkinson had spoken about this during a radio interview but, because his answer came on the back of a question about the expansion of St James’ Park, many fans believed, understandably, that he was talking about taking the current ground to 68,000 from 52,000.

This was not the case. Hopkinson was talking about the supply/demand model in Newcastle not stretching beyond 65-68,000. At St James’, it is not possible to take the capacity beyond 62,000, and that would be a best-case scenario. It may not be what some want to hear, but that is the reality.

Finally, watch out for Hopkinson speaking at the Financial Times Business of Football summit later this month.

The Canadian has come good on his promise to be a visible and engaged presence, and he continues to talk up the ambition of the club whenever possible.

Hopkinson’s enthusiasm and vision has been welcomed by insiders. The next step is delivering the deals and developments that will help take Newcastle to the next level on the pitch.

Toon Teaser

It’s Toon Teaser time…

Last week we asked you to name the SEVEN players to have scored for Newcastle and Manchester City in the Premier League.

The names were: Joey Barton, Craig Bellamy, Andy Cole, Steve Howey, James Milner, Stuart Pearce and Antoine Sibierski.

This week’s question is… can you name the TEN players to have scored for Newcastle and Tottenham in the Premier League.