Following Newcastle United losing to Strasbourg on penalties, I played up to the Geordie stereotype by comfort eating a Greggs (Chicken Bake in case you were wondering) and reflected on the previous two hours I'd spent seeing the start of the NUFC Matthias Jaissle Era for myself.
Many questions swirled around my head such as 'Is Dan Burn the right man to captain the club?' and…
'How long will we be able to hold on to Sean Steur for?'
But the one that hit me hardest was 'Is this the worst Premier League pre-season the club has had in recent memory?'
Now before you all grab your pitchforks and torches ready to hang draw and quarter me for yet ANOTHER doomsayer post about Newcastle United before a ball has even kicked, I want to preface this by saying that the 2025/26 season wasn't a truly awful season. Yes there were terrible moments like the poor league finish, the whimpering exit in the Champions League and the crème de la crème of Geordie humiliation in the double derby loss – but objectively, there were also a few positives such as yet another fantastic league cup run with our third semi-final appearance in four seasons.

#united #greggs