I hope you are all well, I am 40 years old and a long time Newcastle United fan living in Australia.
I finally got the chance to come and see my first game against Hull at St James’ Park in September – it was great.
I watch all the matches, read, listen to podcasts, etc. and have played all my life (I’m 42).
I’m also involved in the tactical side of things and have taken on some of my coaching duties in Australia.
As a Newcastle United fan, I share my first submission to The Mag about why I feel so uncertain about this season.
Newcastle United are an ups and downs club – we all know that. The current reality of the club looks like we’re going downhill, although in reality it’s more like last season’s straight line than any significant change:
2026/27 13th place in the Premier League after 9 games. 11 points in those 9 games for an average of 1.22 points per game.
2025/26 12th place in the Premier League after 38 games. 49 points for an average of 1.28 points per game in those 38 games.
There are many reasons why this season has been more disappointing than last, although the first is that we have no clear idea of what to expect from this manager, this group and the players. We don’t know what to expect.
Fear of the unknown
For Newcastle United fans, this season is full of unknowns.
Who is this manager?
is he ok
Can he adapt to the new league?
Can we win without Bruno?
Was Eddie Howe keeping our heads above water?
What is this Newcastle 2.0?
Who are half of these new players?
Are THEY good?
Can we… go down or actually be good with a few tweaks?
Never in recent years have Newcastle United fans been more uncertain.
There was certainty under Eddie Howe. We knew him and he knew us. Even in last season’s struggle, we had no chance of relegation under Howe.
We knew he knew the league. We knew he knew how to win games in this league. We knew he knew the dates, we knew what a cold, wet night in Stoke meant. We knew he could (mostly) improve players individually and get the best out of them. We knew that the players respected, liked and trusted him. We knew his tactics and style, and we knew they (mostly) worked.
We knew Hou’s team. We knew that when the chips were down, Bruno would come out on top. We knew he would demand the ball, work with every determination and ability to create something, inspire his teammates and inspire the fans. We knew big Joe had his back and would kick somebody if he had to, even if he didn’t. We knew there was danger up front or out wide to hurt the opposition. We knew we had guys who could score in the Premier League. We knew Tripps wouldn’t be rooting for a team that didn’t do its best. We knew we had high standards, maintained by high-quality players who had done it all and seen it all.
Now all that safety and security is gone and you know what – it scares us. Without the assurance that Howe gives us, we assume the worst. We are afraid of free fall. We are not cautious optimists – we are on the verge of riotous pessimism.
It is the fear of the unknown.
Fear creates doubt
So now, after a similar start to last season in terms of points, we are worried. We are not worried like last year – this time is different. We worry because we don’t know what will happen next. We have no idea how Matthias Jaissle responded or what he might do to get a tune out of this team. We have no real indication yet that this group of players can perform at this level under any manager.
We don’t know how the PIF, David Hopkinson and Ross Wilson will respond to this because they haven’t had to before. We don’t really know if they even know what they’re doing to be honest. Most of the time they seem that way, but here we are running out of nails, with tough games ahead and a bunch of youngsters or nine league games to go to get us to the derby, Christmas and a crazy winter schedule.. so maybe they don’t know what they are doing?
Those who are known
So, while looking at the unknown, let’s also think about the known. We know we have a lot of fans. We know we can get the team over the line against almost anyone when St James’ Park is rocking. We know they might need that this year and they’ll need us behind them to be successful in this league.
We know we are in transition. We know we care. We know that whoever the manager is, wherever he is from and whoever is on the pitch, we want the team to succeed. We know it’s going to be turbulent, because when hasn’t it been? We also know that we do not want to support someone else.