Newcastle: Eddie Howe delivered a memorable 2023 but start of 2024 key for the club's next steps

Howe took the Magpies to a cup final and Champions League football in 2023; injuries and tougher schedule made it a difficult December; January brings more significant moments; watch Liverpool vs Newcastle live on Sky Sports Premier League on Monday from 7pm; kick off 8pm.

By Sky Sports News reporter, Keith Downie

Friday 29 December 2023 18:10, UK

It’s been a memorable 2023 for Newcastle. There’s been a sting in the tail, with the team losing six of their last seven games, but what Eddie Howe has delivered this year has been way ahead of schedule.

As a reporter covering the club, I have really enjoyed seeing how the fans are loving their club again and the real engagement they have with this team and our coverage. It's fun to cover the club again and the 12 months have flown past. That could not always be said under the previous regime, when relegation scraps were drawn out.

In the past six months, I have travelled to the south-east coast of America, Paris, Dortmund and Milan reporting on Newcastle. The decade before I was lucky to get four days in Dublin under Rafa Benitez.

We can talk about the pressure Howe may be feeling now but that is because he and his players overachieved last season.

The Carabao Cup final at Wembley was an incredible moment. They lost the game against Man Utd but to see 80,000 Newcastle fans take over Trafalgar Square and then the emotion from the supporters both outside and inside the stadium that day was something else. It left a lump in your throat seeing what it meant to fans of all ages watching their club back on the big stage again after years of pain.

Qualifying for the Champions League was a huge moment and I will not forget the pre-match party in Dortmund where 10,000 Newcastle fans