The Newcastle United squad had high hopes of success last season but their target for the 2025/26 campaign had gone wrong by mid-winter
09:45, 04 Jun 2026Updated 11:00, 04 Jun 2026
Newcastle United training ground on Whitley Park(Image: Iain Buist/Newcastle Chronicle)
Newcastle United will soon draw up their targets for the new season after last season’s disappointing 12th place finish.
Just 12 months ago, the Magpies were gearing up for a new season in earnest with hopes high that the club could add to their Carabao Cup triumph in 2025 and build on a top-five position.
That fifth place slot booked Newcastle a place in the Champions League for the second time in three seasons and secured millions in revenue.
Chronicle Live understands that the dressing room leadership group set themselves the target of qualifying for the Champions League again this season and used history as a motivator to do so.
Indeed, the target was emblazoned on the wall at the club’s training ground in Benton with the fact that back to back qualification for the Champions League had only been secured once before in United’s history.
That came during the Sir Bobby Robson era, when a fourth-place finish was followed by a top-three slot in 2002 and 2003.
And while Newcastle bowed out of the Champions League on penalties in a defeat to Partizan Belgrade, a lofty back-to-back finish has never been achieved since.
United’s aim for the season began going drastically wrong in mid-winter when a dismal 0-0 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers saw Eddie Howe’s side slip from sixth place to eighth, and Newcastle never returned to the top six.
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe(Image: 2026 CameraSport)
Three straight defeats to Aston Villa (h), Liverpool (a) and Brentford (h) then put a serious dent in the campaign for the Magpies as they slid down to 12th place.
The highest place they managed to climb back to was ninth place after a 1-0 win at Chelsea put them back in touch with the European race, as it became clear that fifth or at one stage sixth may have got teams into the Champions League.
But Newcastle’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of bitter rivals Sunderland put Howe’s team back in 12th place, and United never clambered back into the top half despite a couple of late-season wins over Brighton & Hove Albion and West Ham United.
By the end of the season, United were 11 points off what would have been a Champions League, and they missed their target by SEVEN places in the Premier League table.
Newcastle made a much better fist of the cup competitions and Europe last season, and there is no doubt that playing in four competitions contributed to their struggle in the Premier League.
That will change next season as Newcastle again prepare for a sole domestic campaign and more time on the training field.
But with less money to spend than some of their rivals and the need to sell top stars, with £69.3million Anthony Gordon already sold to Barcelona, it will take a big effort to get back to the Champions League.
The fanbase would welcome another domestic cup win like 2025 or even a return to one of the European competitions but it remains to be seen what is a realistic target for the 2026/27 season.
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