A little over six months ago, Matthias Jaissle was basking in the glory of guiding Al Ahli to a second consecutive AFC Champions League crown in front of ecstatic fans at Jeddah's King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.
Only four other clubs had achieved the feat in the tournament's history, the last of which had been Ahli's Saudi Pro League rivals Al Ittihad back in 2004 and 2005. The German coach's stock was rising fast, with his Saudi success coming on the back of a successful stint at Red Bull Salzburg that saw the Austrian club lift back-to-back titles, as well as the Austrian Cup.
Then in August, the English Premier League came calling and Newcastle United – owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) which also holds a majority stake in Al Ahli – swooped for Jaissle to replace Eddie Howe, who had just ended his four-and-a-half-year reign on Tyneside following a disappointing domestic campaign.
The challenge facing Jaissle was immense. Soon after his appointment, club captain Bruno Guimaraes followed Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali through the St James' Park exit, 12 months after top-scorer Alexander Isak had also left for pastures new, ripping the heart out of Howe's successful squad.
Youth over experience
In their place, Newcastle have invested in young, sometimes very raw, talent from around Europe, with eight new arrivals, none of whom are over the age of 25.
The squad's start has been mixed, not helped by injuries to key senior players such as captain Dan Burn, midfield enforcer Joelinton and flying winger Anthony Elanga.
Sunday's 2-0 win at Crystal Palace lifted Newcastle up to eighth in the table, but the team has also suffered 4-1 drubbings at the hands of Leeds United and newly promoted Coventry City.
The team's lack of physicality and experience was brutally exposed at Elland Road after Nico Gonzalez – the only summer signing who had previously played in the Premier League – went off with a concussion. It left Newcastle with a central midfield consisting of Sean Steur and Lewis Miley – aged 18 and 20 respectively – and the team was simply bullied into submission.
“It will still take time,” Jaissle said on Tuesday. “I mentioned it last week here that sometimes we feel that it's still summer or pre-season when it comes to the training sessions to bring basics into the team.
“We had so many injuries at the peak, eight or nine. Then the weeks with the national teams, where you cannot really work in detail with the whole team. So all these aspects lead to the fact that we're still in the process.
“They couldn't train with us, they couldn't implement our ideas so we need to be patient with them.”
There is no continental cup for Jaissle to tackle after Newcastle's 12th-place finish last season, leaving the 38-year-old with only domestic battles to fight.
On Thursday, Newcastle travel to Everton in the last-16 of the League Cup – a competition in which they enjoyed an impressive record under Howe, finishing as runners-up in 2023 before going one better two years later when they beat Liverpool in the final – famously ending the club's 70-year wait for a domestic crown.
And Jaissle made it clear ahead of the game at Hill Dickinson Stadium that unlike some of his counterparts in the English top-flight, he will be taking the cup very seriously.
“Due to the history for the club in that competition, I have the same approach – to play with the best possible line-up,” he said.
“We are getting huge support again in an away match. It is really special, during the week, that we will have 8,000 fans with us, taking the journey to support us.
“It shows the importance about that competition and we will also be aligned with that and go all in. The fans have huge expectations and they have that taste now with winning the competition.”
Toffees coming unstuck
Everton, meanwhile, find themselves mired in limbo on and off the pitch. Saturday's loss at Arsenal means they have won just once in seven league games, although they currently sit only one point behind Newcastle in the table.
Earlier this month, American owners The Friedkin Group (TFG) announced they were putting the club up for sale just two years after taking over.
The decision comes after a catastrophic summer transfer window that saw star winger Iliman Ndiaye sold to Manchester City, while Beto's exit to Fiorentina leaves Thierno Barry as the club's only centre-forward, after the deadline-day deal to sign Monaco attacker Folarin Balogun collapsed in embarrassing fashion.
Amid the chaos, manager David Moyes was left with only 18 senior outfield players in his squad.
TFG also felt the wrath of Everton supporters when they attempted to offload talented teenager Harrison Armstrong to Nottingham Forest, only to backtrack when fans repeatedly chanted there would be “a riot” if the midfielder was sold, during the game against Bournemouth.
Ahead of Everton's recent draw with Hull City, manager David Moyes – whose contract comes to an end next summer – voiced his frustration at the club's situation.
“I'm disappointed that Evertonians have to go through another period of 'who are our owners?',” he said. “I truly believed with new ownership we were in it completely … Maybe, I am a little bit surprised, but maybe I shouldn't be that surprised.”
