The Premier League season ended with Newcastle United in seventh place.
That seventh place seeing Eddie Howe’s side ‘qualify’ for the Europa Conference League next season.
When Manchester United beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final, NUFC no longer had ‘qualified status for the Europa Conference League.
Instead, Man U got a place in the Europa League through their cup win, Chelsea were knocked down to Conference level, whilst Newcastle United left with nothing.
I have seen a lot of headlines and debate since that FA Cup final.
A lot of the headlines along the lines of ‘What does no European football mean for Newcastle United???’
Well, I think the first thing to point out, is that there ‘European football’ and then there is ‘European football’… plus there is ‘European football’.
I hate to say it but Kylian Mbappe isn’t refusing to come to Newcastle United because of no European Conference League on offer.
Indeed NOBODY is saying they aren’t coming to St James’ Park because of no European Conference League football.
It is just lazy and VERY misleading to talk about ‘missing out on European football’, as though they are all one and the same thing, in terms of each competition’s appeal.
If a Premier League club can offer Champions League football, then that is undoubtedly a selling point. It will certainly do Aston Villa no harm, especially if trying to sign overseas players this summer. That is, if they have the cash and freedom to do so…
If you can pretty much guarantee Champions League football every season as a PL club, then that puts you on a whole other level. Which is where Manchester City are of course now. The only Premier League club at that level, as things stand. Man City the only English club to be in the Champions League these past two seasons AND the upcoming one.
The way much of the media goes on, you would think Man U’s Cup final win had robbed Newcastle United of Champions League status.
Instead, the reality is that it ‘robbed’ NUFC of playing in a competition that for me at the very least is dubious, in terms of the appeal of playing in it. I am certainly in the camp of Newcastle fans who think that looking to bounce back from last season, Newcastle United are for sure better off this time not playing two games extra almost every month, playing on Thursdays and Sundays, with the vast majority of ties meaning travel to a far-off Eastern European destination.
I think the realty is that if Newcastle United had qualified for the Europa Conference League, it would have made zero difference when it comes to signing players. Indeed, I reckon some might even be put off if knowing they were going to have to compete in it.
It isn’t that I think Newcastle are too good for the third tier European competition, just that it is immaterial when it comes to our chances of signing players.
Certainly when you think Newcastle United are looking to buy players who are better than what they have already, to be that level I don’t think these transfer targets will find any attraction with the Conference League.
I think the level of players Eddie Howe will be looking at, are those already playing Champions League football and/or those who have aspirations to do so in the future.
If sitting down with transfer targets this summer, Eddie Howe would/will be saying that this is what we intend to do to make sure we are in the Champions League in the 2025/26 season, this is the plan.
That is what transfer targets will want to hear, as opposed to we can offer offer you a monthly trip to Eastern Europe and a very congested fixture list of arguably meaningless European fixtures, that could ruin our chances of Champions League football in 2025/26.
