Newcastle United fans need to be bracing themselves.
I don’t think this new season is a guaranteed disaster but we need to be prepared for all eventualities.
Losing a number of key star players and a brilliant manager who had performed miracles since the Newcastle United takeover in Autumn 2021 was always going to be tough.
Now we have a young manager with probably serious potential but who hasn’t ever managed in one of the top leagues, never mind the toughest league of all.
Then added to that a handful of potentially very good signings from overseas, four of the five aged 20 years of age or under, the quintet between them having played a minimal number of matches at first team level in France, Portugal, Holland and Germany.
The huge problem with potential is that it might never be realised.
The huge danger is that potential can so quickly be extinguished before it even has the chance to properly catch fire and burn brightly.
My message would be that as Newcastle United fans, we need to stay one hundred percent behind Matthias Jaissle and this squad of players that will attempt to navigate the 2026/27 season.
That is no matter what happens this season.
Especially in the opening stages of this 2026/27 campaign.
If large numbers of Newcastle United fans turn on Matthias Jaissle and his squad, disaster is a real possibility.
We have seen it happen at other clubs and the Premier League is so competitive these days, anything is possible.
You look at Tottenham with all their huge advantages over all but five other clubs and they only cheated relegation by one position, both of these last two seasons.
Newcastle United start the Premier League season with Liverpool home and Tottenham away. The two teams in the past 12 months who have paid a combined £225m+ for two of Newcastle’s very best players, the two highest transfer fees that NUFC have ever received in their history.
Then follows Bournemouth home, Leeds away and Hull home.
All of these clubs will be watching keenly what has happened at Newcastle United and look to take advantage.
What a lot of people don’t realise as well, is that this season there is one less international break.
Instead of having international breaks in both September and October, there is just one very lengthy three weeks’ long one that kicks off after Newcastle United play Hull at St James’ Park on Saturday 19 September, then NUFC don’t play again until Coventry away on Saturday 10 October (TBC as TV choices not announced yet for October).
I am not predicting this will happen BUT even if Newcastle United ended up losing all five of their opening Premier League matches, fans have to stick with them. Especially if these new young overseas signings make mistakes, generally underperform, whatever.
Clubs that end up an early season mess can see things swiftly spiral and end up with multiple managers within one season and wins a rare commodity.
Especially once we get past 1 September, nothing can then be done until January in terms of new players.
Personally, if I could press a button and have Eddie Howe and the Newcastle United squad of last season, I would do it in a heartbeat.
However, I also accept, that is now the past and we HAVE to move on.
Matthias Jaissle is the man we need to trust (and Ross Wilson with his signings…).
Get beyond 19 September 2026 and Matthias Jaissle will have three weeks to take a breath, get things sorted. Then prepare to take on the other 33 matches of the Premier League season.