Newcastle still have beautiful chaos in their locker. This is what they needed

Here’s some praise so faint it’s essentially invisible to the human eye: Never done before Newcastle United achieved three consecutive League cup quarter-finals. Yet in a strange way, this barely readable achievement also represents a 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 unquestionable.

The last eight is not where Newcastle aspire to be, but a club synonymous with not winning (especially in this competition) is at least trying again. From 2007 to 2021, aka Mike Ashley’s great wasteland era, they scraped past the fourth round of the FA Cup exactly once and in the Carabao Cup it was three times. It was a ridiculous total that – half drumroll please – has now been matched.

There have been so many near misses, possible chances, never-wases and awful draws, but reaching another quarter-final – and another home game, a lip-smacker against Brentford – comes at an important time. After five games without a win in the Premier League and with trembling confidence, Eddie Howe needed confirmation. He needed something to show progress, to his players, to fans, maybe to himself.

What is there without this? Newcastle are twelfth in the table, a position that is very Ashley-esque even if the circumstances are different. They have suffered through two transfer windows and stalled without noticeably strengthening their first team; Steve Bruce and Rafa Benitez may sensibly nod to that. And for now, big ambitious projects like a redeveloped stadium or a new training ground will remain just that. Unrealized ambitions.

Howe and his team have led Newcastle’s rise and the League Cup now offers them a way out of this wave 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 also an affirmation. Chelsea had the ball, but Howe’s players gathered the momentum, pressed high, pushed hard and forced their opponents into the abyss of error. Howe called it “what we were looking for.”

No longer lost, here was the intensity Howe had injected into Newcastle’s veins, here was the aggression that fans fell in love with. The disappearance of those things can be put down to a host of failures, from a summer of uncertainty, a change in sentiment around the club, a dressing room that needs to find motivation from within and a general stagnation of that relentless revival, but struggle came. flows 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 saw that tonight, especially in the first half. It was the mark of us at our best: front foot, really good energy, good feeling, good quality, especially good attitude, and a huge win. Later at his press conference, more emphasis was placed on it: “That was a very 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 and lacking in analytical detail, but the faith became tangible and everyone fed off of 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, collapsed.

“Games change in the blink of an eye and also feelings and momentum can change very quickly as well,” Howe said. “When you are in a difficult moment, you need someone to steer you into the opposite life, and the only people who can do that are ourselves. It’s about players and staff coming together and the intention of the players was very good. From the kick-off you could see that we were mentally there.”

The first goal was brutalist: Chelsea played away and Newcastle played hard. Joelinton to make Renato Veiga under pressure, Sando Tonali slides in and the ball breaks Alexander Isaac score. The second was opportunistic, Lewis Hall He gave a quick free kick and Isak’s cross was deflected Christopher Nkunku, Joe Willock get started with it and Axel Disasi waving. In that short period between the 23rd and 26th minute, St James was cooking.

It wasn’t a one-way street, but at the other end Newcastle threw themselves into blocks and open spaces, taking courage and inspiration from the prickliness in front of them. “Trust is a fragile thing in many ways,” Howe said. “You can talk about it, you can do a lot of different things, but winning is the only thing that brings it back. Afterwards we will feel much better about ourselves.”

There were other points of interest. Early substitutions for Tonali in Newcastle’s two previous games had drawn faint boos in Howe’s direction, but against Chelsea the Italian was central to midfield and brought intelligence, strength and energy both in possession and out possession. He looked liberated and recharged.

The best teams are not automatically formed from the best players and Newcastle’s midfield is disjointed. The balance came with Tonali in the middle, Sean Longstaff on the right and Willock on the left, carrying the ball upfield. All three were excellent. For them, Joelinton missed one early chance but compensated with sheer power and mocking threat. It meant Gordon switched to the right, but the trade-off was necessary.

So far this season, Newcastle have played and left questions, but this match finally provided answers, or the semblance of them. Rest assured, no one is suggesting that Bruno Guimaraeswho came on in the second half would definitely have to make way, but at least there are alternatives and the Brazilian now knows that. That shock is vital. So too was the reminder that Howe’s team still has beautiful, mongrel chaos in their locker and that in this league the dream is alive.

(Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)