The provenance of Newcastle’s funds can remain an issue but the moral and the financial are very separate situations. And, in some quarters, there will probably be the suggestion a top-four finish was the inevitable consequence of spending. For others, there might be a distaste about Newcastle’s owners, at the sense that it is an endorsement of the Saudi Arabian government or a triumphant sportswashing project. For those of a certain age and with a nostalgic bent, their return to such a stage may stir memories of Tino Asprilla’s hat-trick against Barcelona. There may be more of a mixed reception elsewhere, and not merely if Newcastle eject Manchester United or, more probably, Liverpool from next season’s Champions League. Optimism has returned, and at a ground with the size, centrality and presence to feel still more integral to a city’s identity than most. Newcastle was a club mired in depression and which is now engulfed in euphoria. Which, it is safe to say, will be greeted with glee on Tyneside. ![]() Newcastle United’s fixture list seems set to take on an extra dimension next season. He may soon have to expand his vocabulary to include the phrase. “I actually can’t pronounce it, it goes funny against my lips,” he said. Eddie Howe has spent a season not mentioning the Champions League.
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