Are we progressing quickly enough?

[RamboandBruno]

I think the WC happening mid season, encourages a kind of all bets are off this season. We’ve had a wasted year with Gerrard i think most agree, however looking at the table, you’d think Brighton, Brentford and Fulham, all currently ahead of us, will falter to differing degrees as the season progresses. Liverpool will no doubt improve, Chelsea will as well, although i thought before the season it might be top 6 rather than 4 for them with the players they lost. Howe has done brilliantly at Newcastle, but much as i think the WC has come at the right time for us, it may have come at the wrong time for them. Can Dan Burn, Jolelintin, Longstaff etc keep on going at the level they have?

Anyway to make massive progress with Emery this season would be Europe in 7th I guess, but that would mean us finishing higher than probably one of Chelsea, Man U or Newcastle,  tall order. Given that id take 8th even 9th and a cup run, followed by a push further up next year.

[LeonW]

According to transfermarket, Newcastle have spent £266m on players in the last two seasons and that doesn’t account for what they might do in January. Yes they’re performing well and with confidence and it’s a better story to focus on the improvements of Almiron, Joelinton and Willock, but playing with better players under a competent manager makes life easier.

If we’d have been able to appoint an Emery after Smith we’d be competing for a European place by now, i’m sure of it. Smith was close to achieving this with 55 points in 20/21. On a 10 year average that would have got us 8th. The Gerrard tenure has convoluted things. We’re not that far away from getting a Europa conference spot and I think we’ll see just what these players can really do over the next year or so. I’ve always said that the squad is better then what they showed under Gerrard and expect them to show it under a competent and tactically astute manager.