Newcastle United secured all three points the hard way against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
While it was an important win for the Magpies, it wasn’t one that has filled fans with much hope that they will qualify for the Champions League this season. Newcastle’s 4-3 thriller against Nottingham Forest saw them take advantage of other results across the Premier League to move up to fifth in the table.
The feeling is that fifth will be enough to qualify for Europe’s top competition this season thanks to UEFA’s coefficient rules and great performances from the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United in Europe.
Eddie Howe has a big job on his hands for the final 12 games of the season – Newcastle United’s squad is depleted after Paul Mitchell failed to replace the January departees. Howe must now use one natural right-winger and a weakened defence until the end of the season.
Things will not be getting much easier either, Newcastle takes on Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday night, a ground where they have had no luck in recent years.
As Newcastle look set to limp over the line, pundit Jamie Carragher has highlighted something he has noticed with the club that he can’t comprehend.
Jamie Carragher highlights Newcastle’s ‘shock’ results
The season has been full of inconsistency for Newcastle – they found themselves 12th after a slew of poor results before winning nine straight games in all competitions. Now, Howe can barely pull a result together, having lost three of the last four Premier League games before the Forest win.
Despite that, Newcastle still find themselves in a great position across all domestic competitions. The Magpies are in the Carabao Cup final and are two wins away from another Wembley Stadium appearance in the FA Cup.
Speaking on the Overlap podcast, Carragher highlighted how Newcastle tend to have ‘shock’ results every few weeks that derail their progress.
On Newcastle, Carragher said: “The thing I noticed about Newcastle, I think there’s a lot of outstanding players.
“But it feels like every few weeks you have a result or performance that just feels like the shock result of the Premier League. Why does that keep happening?”
It’s a question Howe himself may not even be able to answer – fans saw the same thing last season when injuries hindered their progress in both the Premier League and Champions League.
Howe’s decision-making has been called into question at times as well. Newcastle fans slated Nick Pope for his performance after he replaced Martin Dubravka in the Magpies starting XI. The England international conceded three goals in his first league start since returning from injury.
Jamie Carragher urges Liverpool to sign Newcastle target
Newcastle are expected to spend more freely in the summer because of their sensible approach to recent windows. The focus has been more on sales rather than arrivals with the likes of Elliot Anderson, Miguel Almiron and Lloyd Kelly leaving in the last six months.
One player Mitchell has his eye on is Brentford winger Bryan Mbeumo who has been fantastic this season, scoring 15 goals. Mbeumo is Newcastle’s ‘dream’ signing but will cost them around £50m to release him from Brentford’s clutches.
Carragher is also a big fan of Mbeumo – urging Liverpool and Arne Slot to sign him as a replacement for Mohamed Salah – who looks set to leave the club in the summer.
The Cameroonian international has his fair share of admirers thanks to his good form throughout the campaign. Arsenal are interested in Mbeumo, so Mitchell has a big job on his hands at Newcastle.
‘Shock’: Jamie Carragher has ‘noticed’ something about Newcastle that he cannot get his head around
