Football News: Newcastle Fans Have Good Reason To Be Optimistic

Image from: lolfootball.com

This season is looking like a really good time to be a Newcastle United fan once again, as Mike Ashley has loosened the purse strings and allowed the club to spend some of its huge profits. Excitement heading into the new season is the highest I can remember it for some time on our Newcastle site. Ashley had almost killed the Toon fans' natural optimism, but now it is back ahead of the 2015/16 Premier League season.

The arrival of Georginio Wijnaldum and Aleksandar Mitrovic, alongside the new coaching set up of Steve McClaren and Ian Cathro, there is a lot of reason to be hopeful of a better season. Wijnaldum has been highly rated for years, as a prospect to be savoured, now is his chance to prove he is good enough for the big leagues, not just the Eredivisie. Mitrovic fills a clear gap in the Newcastle line up, with goals being in short supply in the previous season.

Most of all though, the major positive for the club is in the coaching set up, not McClaren though, but Cathro. Ian Cathro is a professional coach, rather than a former player who got a job through a mate, but a young man who has risen up through the coaching ranks, despite the prejudices against him for not being a former professional footballer. He brings fresh ideas and has proven himself to be a top class coach that can help players improve in quality.

It might well be that the Toon Army will find that, in the long term, the signing of the summer will not be a player, but Ian Cathro. Though they do still need to strengthen their defence in the short term. It was even weaker than the toothless attack last season, despite Daryl Janmaat excelling at right back.

Jamaal Lascelles will add a physical presence to the defence, but the likes of Steven Taylor and Mike Williamson have proven themselves to be simply not good enough for the Premier League, and they need to be replaced properly. Despite this, Newcastle fans have every reason to be optimistic of a much better season this time around. Not just because of the replacement of Alan Pardew, but because of the signs from the club that it will be looking to invest in quality players to move it forward.

Following last term's final day relegation battle, it was clear to all that the club needed major investment, with Ashley publicly promising that he would provide it in a TV interview. It is good to see that he is, so far, following through on his pledge. The only question now remains is whether he will continue to invest for the long term, or whether this is just a one off.

Written by Tris Burke July 24 2015 09:35:51