Here is some praise so faint it may actually be invisible to the human eye: never before have Newcastle United reached three consecutive League Cup quarter-finals. Yet, in a strange way, this barely legible achievement also represents revolution. Three years on from their takeover, much is open to interpretation at St James’ Park, including the general direction of travel, but in this respect, their forward momentum is unarguable.
The last eight is not where Newcastle aspire to be, but a club synonymous with not winning (particularly in this competition), is at least trying again. From 2007 until 2021, AKA the great Mike Ashley wasteland era, they scraped beyond the fourth round of the FA Cup precisely once and in the Carabao Cup it was three times. It was a risible total which – half-arsed drumroll, please – has now been matched.
There have been so many near misses, could-bes, never-wases and awful draws, but getting to another quarter-final – and another home tie, a lip-smacker against Brentford – comes at a significant moment. After five games without victory in the Premier League and with confidence trembling, Eddie Howe needed a spike of confirmation. He needed something to demonstrate progress, to his players, to fans, perhaps to himself.
What is there without this? Newcastle are 12th in the table, a very Ashley sort of position even if the circumstances are different. They have suffered and stalled through two transfer windows without noticeably strengthening their first XI; Steve Bruce and Rafa Benitez might nod sagely at that. And, for now, big ambitious projects like a redeveloped stadium or new training ground remain just that. Unrealised ambitions.
Howe and his team have led Newcastle’s surge and the League Cup now offers them a route out of this spate of malaise, if we can call it that. This was a big win against a big team at a crucial time and, perhaps more than that, it was an affirmation, too. Chelsea had the ball but Howe’s players hoarded the impetus, pressing high, pushing hard and forcing their opponents towards the precipice of error. Howe called it “what we’ve been searching for.”
Lost no longer, here was the intensity Howe had injected into Newcastle’s veins, here was the aggression fans fell in love with. The dissipation of those things can be put down to a multitude of failings, from a summer of uncertainty, a change of feeling around the club, a dressing room which must find motivation from within and a general stalling of that relentless uplift, but fight came flowing back. Relief followed close behind.
Howe made no attempt to minimize any of it. “We needed a performance and a result,” the head coach said afterwards. “We got that tonight, especially in the first half. It was the hallmark of us at our best – front foot, really good energy, good feel, good quality, good attitude most importantly, and a massive win.” Later in his press conference, there was more emphasis: “That was a really important moment.”
An early challenge from Anthony Gordon set the tone and the crowd responded. Chelsea pushed forward and Newcastle caught them, sending a jolt of panic through their bodies. It sounds so ridiculously simple, so lacking in analytical detail, but belief became tangible and everybody fed on it. The pressing worked for Newcastle, so they did it again and again and Enzo Maresca’s players, who had beaten them at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, crumpled.
“Games change in a heartbeat and also feelings and momentum can change really quickly, too,” Howe said. “When you’re in a difficult moment, you need someone to spark you into life the opposite way and the only people that can do that is us, ourselves. It’s about players, staff coming together and the intention was really good from the players. You could see from kick-off we were there mentally.”
The first goal was brutalist, Chelsea playing out and Newcastle playing hard, Joelinton putting Renato Veiga under pressure, Sando Tonali sliding in and the ball breaking for Alexander Isak to score. The second was opportunistic, Lewis Hall prodding a quick free-kick, Isak’s cross taking a deflection off Christopher Nkunku, Joe Willock heading it on and Axel Disasi flailing. In that short spell between the 23rd and 26th minutes, St James’ boiled.
It was not one-way, but at the other end Newcastle threw themselves at blocks and clearances, taking heart and inspiration from the spikiness in front of them. “Confidence is a fragile thing in all sorts of ways,” Howe said. “You can talk about it, you can do lots of different things, but winning is the only thing that brings it back. We’ll feel much better about ourselves after that.”
There were other points of interest. Early substitutions for Tonali in Newcastle’s two previous matches had directed a faint round of boos in Howe’s direction, but against Chelsea the Italian was stationed in the centre of midfield and he brought intelligence, power and energy with him, in and out of possession. He looked released and recharged.
The best teams are not automatically formed from the best players and Newcastle’s midfield has been disjointed. Balance came with Tonali in the middle, Sean Longstaff on the right and Willock on the left, carrying the ball up the field. All three were excellent. Ahead of them, Joelinton missed one early chance, but compensated through sheer force and sneering menace. It meant Gordon switching over to the right, but the trade-off was necessary.
So far this season, Newcastle have played and left questions in their wake, but this game finally provided answers, or the semblance of some. Be assured that nobody is suggesting that Bruno Guimaraes, who came on in the second half, should make way permanently, but at least there are alternatives and at least the Brazilian now knows it, too. That jolt is vital. So, too, was the reminder that Howe’s team still have beautiful, bastard chaos in their locker and that, in this competition, the dream is alive.
(Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)
