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Eddie Howe could be ready to unleash Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson for the second time this season, but says his 4-4-2 is more nuanced than Mike Bassett’s.
Newcastle need a win at Brentford today to be guaranteed of finishing in the European places, and then must hope Manchester United lose in the FA Cup final.
To achieve this, Howe is considering using two forwards, with Wilson returning from illness to travel to west London.
He teamed up Wilson and Isak at Burnley earlier this month and they were both on target in a 4-1 win.
And Howe was asked if there was still a place in the modern game for the formation used by fictional England boss Mike Bassett in the hit film.
Eddie Howe could play with two forwards in Newcastle’s final game of the season
England international Callum Wilson (left) could unleash alongside Alexander Isak (right) with Newcastle looking to finish in the European places in the final weekend of the Premier League.
Howe said his 4-4-2 is more nuanced than that of fictional England manager Mike Bassett (right).
“I’ll make one thing clear: we’re not playing against a Mike Bassett 4-4-2!” he said. ‘I can’t believe he’s saying that… it’s a little more complex than that.
“But having those two players, with the attributes they have, they can definitely play together.”
How tough has it been not having both of you available for much of the season?
“Along with a lot of things, it’s been one of the biggest factors impacting the season,” Howe said. ‘Going back to the previous season, I was bonding them and hanging out together. It was a brilliant choice. As soon as one seemed fatigued, he could replace it.
‘The competition between them was healthy and seemed to drive them both. When you only have one of them available, the competition disappears. It can have a detrimental effect. One of them has had to stay on the field of play when he was not at his best physically. “I would have loved to have had the option to play more together, but every coach would have those stories to tell.”
Meanwhile, Howe was asked if the club’s Saudi owners maintained an ambition to be the number one club in the world, as they had previously stated.
“The ambition is there, but we have to work within reality,” he said. “And the reality is that we are still not the number one club off the field in terms of revenue, nor the number one club in many areas.” So getting there requires a lot of hard work.
But they take it very seriously. I have not seen any indication to the contrary. The thing is that in other sports (golf, boxing) you can possibly invest whatever you want. You certainly can’t here and I think that’s the point, and that’s a talking point for everyone involved with football at the moment.
Isak (pictured) and Wilson have scored 34 goals between them and the Swedish striker is only behind Erling Haaland and Cole Palmer in the Premier League scoring charts this season.
Newcastle may not play in Europe even if they get the result they need on Sunday as they will have to wait to see if Manchester United take their place by winning the FA Cup final next week.
“Everyone wants the club to grow quickly, but I don’t think you can see this as a career.
“The club will progress at the pace it can within the rules. I understand that everyone wants success yesterday. My job sometimes is to control that and give a truer picture of what is happening at the football club.
“Yes, we are trying to grow it, but the players and staff have done incredibly well during the time I have been here. In my opinion, our rate of progress has been very fast and everyone has done incredibly well. so I understand the demand for more, but we have to reflect that we have done well so far.’
