There was a debate in the Newcastle press room this week about what was more important for the club: winning the Carabao Cup or qualifying for the Champions League. The bottom line was this: a great club, the club Newcastle wants to be, would go and do both.
Financially, the Champions League trumps the Carabao, of course. In fact, a bonus of more than £1 million paid to players if they win the latter would be 10 times the £100,000 prize money the club would receive from the EFL.
But there is a broader picture beyond what is drawn in a balance sheet. Lifting a national cup, 70 years after the last one, would alone generate an incalculable fortune.
That's why Eddie Howe will pick his strongest XI for Tuesday's semi-final first leg at Arsenal. That's why he did it in the last round at home to Brentford, despite arriving a few days before a series of festive games that he desperately needed to win. And that's why every star who has signed a new contract in the last 18 months has spoken so passionately about being part of the team that finally delivers a trophy. That is, above all, his motivation.
There comes a time in the history of a club when those involved want and need to see their reflection in the silverware and not just in the mirror. And my goodness, Newcastle United have been looking in the mirror for quite some time. They have also broken a few in the last half century.
So when the Saudi owners arrived in 2021, it felt like their luck had changed. The truth is that nothing will change until they win something. English football's most notorious trophy drought means the club is still scarred by the rubble of its past, living amid its own ruins.
Newcastle may have to prioritize trying to win the Carabao Cup or finishing in the Champions League qualification spots.
Eddie Howe to pick his strongest team for Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Arsenal
Players like Alexander Isak, who has been in sensational form this season, will have
Newcastle's wait for a major trophy stretches back an astonishing 70 years
Yes, they are building something new, but the old trophy case comes with you, and as long as it is filled with dust, stardust will never descend on St James' Park. They will always be that club, celebrating moments in time that, in the end, led to failure. Manchester United 5-0, Barcelona 3-2, Paris Saint Germain 4-1. The last two did not even make it past the group stage of the Champions League.
It is the reason why the fans, if included in the press room discussion, would argue in favor of winning the cup.
“Winning the League Cup would be the final stage for Newcastle to return to what we consider a 'successful' club,” said True Faith Podcast host Alex Hurst.
'If we consider that the last national trophy was 70 years ago, it is essentially 70 years of failure. If you look at the previous 70 years of Newcastle United, there were a lot of trophies in that era. Then something has gone wrong.
“From the fans' perspective, it is a shame that the club has failed for so long, with constant support. Winning a cup would take that failure off our shoulders.”
But will he help persuade star names such as Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes to remain on Tyneside, amid ongoing links with moves elsewhere?
Maybe, but not without the Champions League, and that was the crux of our journalistic debate.
Think of it as the main course and dessert. Big players want Champions League football as a staple of their diet, the taste sensation comes later. If anything, winning a trophy this season and then not finishing in the top four (possibly top five) would perhaps give them reasons to leave, a sense of a job done and their place in the club's history secured.
Qualification for the Champions League, however, is a necessity to keep players like Bruno Guimaraes
St James' Park's top players want the Champions League as a staple of their diet
Howe told Mail Sport that his Newcastle team play better when they “don't think about things too much”
That's why Newcastle needs both. If that is achieved, hypothetical conversations about which is more important will be limited to history, as will the trophy drought. It would usher in a new era and change the way the club is perceived, both internally and beyond.
So how does Howe get past Arsenal? After six straight wins, playing with a new identity of control and clinical finishing (Isak has nine goals in seven Premier League games), the head coach reckons this will be 90 minutes, rather than 45 with the second leg to come. .
“For us, I think we are at our best when we just watch the game and don't think about things too much,” he said, when pressed by Mail Sport on his approach. But it's a good question. There is a danger that you will tie yourself up in knots and really question yourself. It's a soccer game. It's 90 minutes.
'Yes, it will only be half-time and there will be a second chance regardless of the result. “But a positive approach, seeing us play our way, is our best chance of getting a positive result.”
Still, Howe's team have rediscovered the dark arts of late, a nasty team that has irritated Mikel Arteta and Arsenal in the past. When the Saudi takeover was completed just over three years ago, Newcastle were on the verge of completing an eight-game losing streak against the Gunners; Since then, they have won three of the last six and have buried some of their opponents' best trophies and titles. four dreams
“We're here to try and win and ultimately that's all that drives us,” said the Newcastle boss, whose team is fifth in the Premier League. “As far as popular goes, I don't really care what happens outside of Newcastle. The perception that other teams have of us doesn't worry me much. “It’s about us making sure we’re happy with who we are.”
Everyone connected with Newcastle will be much happier if they win a trophy, and that is their only goal at the moment. They are certainly not debating the merits of that versus the Champions League.