CRAIG HOPE: Should Newcastle go for Carabao Cup glory or a Champions League place? There’s only one right answer to keep the project on track

There was a debate in the Newcastle press room this week as to what was more important to the club – winning the Carabao Cup or qualifying for the Champions League. The conclusion was thus – a big club, the club Newcastle want to be, would go and do both.

Financially, the Champions League trumps the Carabao, of course. Indeed, a bonus pool in excess of £1million paid to the players if they win the latter would be 10 times the £100,000 prize money that the club would get from the EFL.

But there is a bigger picture beyond the one drawn on a balance sheet. Lifting a domestic cup, 70 years on from the last, would generate an untold fortune in its own right.

That is why Eddie Howe will pick his strongest XI for Tuesday’s semi-final first leg at Arsenal. That is why he did so in the last round at home to Brentford, despite it coming a few days before a set of festive fixtures he very much needed to win. And that is why every star name who has signed a new contract in the past 18 months has spoken so passionately about being part of the team that finally delivers a trophy. That, above all else, is their motivation.

There comes a time in the journey of a club when those involved want, and need, to see their reflection in silverware and not just the mirror. And goodness, Newcastle United have been staring into a mirror for long enough now. They’ve broken a fair few in the past half a century, too.

So when Saudi owners came along in 2021, it felt as if their luck had changed. The truth is, nothing will really change until they win something. The most infamous trophy drought in English football means the club is still marked by the debris of its past, living amid its own ruins.

Eddie Howe will pick his strongest team for the Carabao Cup first leg semi-final vs Arsenal

The likes of Alexander Isak, who has been in sensational form this season, will feature

Newcastle’s wait for a major trophy stretches back an astonishing 70 years

Yes, they are building something new, but the old trophy cabinet comes with you – and as long as it is populated by dust, the stardust will never really descend on St James’ Park. They will always be that club, celebrating moments in time which, ultimately, led to failure. Manchester United 5-0, Barcelona 3-2, Paris Saint-Germain 4-1. The last two, they didn’t even make it beyond the Champions League group stage.

It is the reason why supporters, if dropped into the press-room discussion, would argue in favour of the cup win.

‘Winning the League Cup would be the final stage of Newcastle making a return to what we consider a “successful” club,’ said Alex Hurst, host of the True Faith Podcast.

‘If we look at the last domestic trophy being 70 years ago, it is essentially 70 years of failure. If you look at the previous 70 years of Newcastle United, there were lots of trophies in that time. So something has gone wrong.

‘From a supporter perspective, it’s an embarrassment that the club have failed for so long, with the support being there consistently. To win a cup would get that failure off our backs.’

But will it help persuade those star names such as Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes to stay on Tyneside, amid constant links with moves elsewhere? 

It can, but not without the Champions League, and that was the crux of our journalistic debate.

Think of it as the main course and dessert. The big players want Champions League football as a staple of their diet, the taste sensation comes later. If anything, winning a trophy this season and then not following it up with a top-four (possibly top-five) finish, would perhaps give them reason to leave, a feeling of job done and their place in the club’s history secured.

Champions League qualification, however, is a necessity to keep the likes of Bruno Guimaraes

The big players at St James’ Park want Champions League football as a staple of their diet

Howe told Mail Sport that his Newcastle side play best when they ‘don’t overthink things’

It is why Newcastle need both. Achieve that, and hypothetical conversations about which is more important are confined to history, much like the trophy drought. It would mark the start of a new era and change the way the club is perceived, both internally and beyond. 

So, how does Howe get past Arsenal? After six wins on the spin, playing with a rebranded identity of control and clinical finishing – Isak has nine goals in seven matches in the Premier League – the head coach is looking at this as 90 minutes, rather than 45 with a second leg to come.

‘For us, I think we’re at our best when we just see the game and don’t overthink things,’ he said, when pressed on his approach by Mail Sport. ‘But it’s a good question. There is a danger you can tie yourself into knots, second guessing yourself really. It’s a game of football. It’s 90 minutes.

‘Yes, it will only be half-time and there will be a second chance regardless of the outcome. But a positive approach, seeing us play our way, is our best chance of getting a positive result.’

Even still, Howe’s side have rediscovered the dark arts of late, a nasty side that has irked Mikel Arteta and Arsenal in the past. When the Saudi takeover was completed just over three years ago, Newcastle were about to complete a run of eight straight defeats against the Gunners – since then, they have won three of the last six and buried a few of their opponents’ own trophy and top four dreams.

‘We are here to try and win and ultimately that’s all we are driven for,’ said the Newcastle boss, whose side are up to fifth in the Premier League. ‘The popular stuff, I don’t really care what happens outside of Newcastle. The perception other teams have of us, it doesn’t really worry me. It’s all about us making sure we are happy with who we are.’

Everyone connected to Newcastle will be far happier if they do win a trophy, and that is their sole focus right now. They certainly aren’t debating the merits of that versus the Champions League.