Wembley champagne left us thirsty for much more - but can Newcastle United deliver before 2030?

Just one year ago Newcastle United lifted a trophy - but where are the club 12 months on?

Jamaal Lascelles with the Carabao Cup trophy after Newcastle's win over Liverpool(Image: 2025 Allstar)

One year feels like it has passed in the blink of an eye at Newcastle United.

Yes, it really is the one-year anniversary since the Magpies won a trophy, a concept that many of us are still getting our heads around 12 months on. Down the years, we've watched on as the anniversary dinners clocked up for the likes of Bobby Moncur, Alan Foggon and Frank Clark with the old Fairs Cup celebrated well and truly down the decades.

You'd like to think that those long trophy droughts are a thing of the past but hearing the final whistle at Wembley this time last year still feels like it hasn't sunk in! Even now, I can see the disbelief around Wembley as the black and whites finally landed a piece of major silverware.

Dan Burn cemented himself in Geordie folklore with the first Toon goal at Wembley in 25 years, and Alexander Isak may one day be forgiven for his antics after netting what proved to be the winner under the famous arch in the capital.

Burn must pinch himself on a regular basis after going from the ex-Darlington defender signed to help keep Newcastle up in 2022 to a club legend, England international and Wembley winner in just 12 months. Isak's feelings will be different after becoming public enemy number 1 on Tyneside, but even then without his firepower, history would not have been made.

So much has happened in the last 12 months on Tyneside, and you can start right there with the sale of the Sweden international. Isak infuriated Howe and the backroom staff just months after the 2-1 win over Liverpool.

By going on strike, Isak proved that he wasn't interested in becoming a legend at St James' Park with the opportunity to surpass Alan Shearer's 206 goal haul there for the taking had he signed a long-term deal. But Newcastle now look like a very different proposition to the team Isak left behind.

They were always going to function differently once Isak left for Liverpool for a record £125m. Howe was left stunned by Isak's behaviour and left to lead the club into the summer transfer market.

After being turned down by the likes of Liam Delap, Bryan Mbeumo, Joao Pedro and Benjamin Sesko, Newcastle were some way down their list when they signed Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa. The truth is, they weren't prepared for Isak's exit and with no sporting director in place to help stop it, Newcastle had little choice but to cash in.

Since then, Newcastle aren't the same team. Yes, they are growing, but they have lost the element of "housery" fans love to see, throw away leads too often and managed to lose their first Wear-Tyne derby in years in the Premier League.

Things have not clicked this season, unfortunately, and already this team are in the shadow of 2024/25. That can change quickly of course, but to better last season Newcastle can only dwarf it by lifting the European Cup - a tall old order if ever there was one.

Perhaps we should be grateful if Newcastle - rocked by Isak's exit - scrape into Europe via the second-tier or third-tier UEFA competitions for next term. If they can, we can dust ourselves down and look ahead to brighter days, but how did Newcastle go from the brink of building on the Carabao Cup this season to sliding backwards?

The exit of Paul Mitchell just days after qualifying for the Champions League should not be underestimated. It left a void in the system at Benton, so soon after finally winning a trophy.

As Newcastle also steered through tough times without a CEO, Howe was the man in the hotseat and the man under pressure to deliver on more than just the coaching front. Since then, David Hopkinson has taken on the role of club supremo, and Ross Wilson is the new transfer chief.

Both go into summer 2026 with a big job to do on and off the pitch, with commercial gains badly needed and new recruits a must. When Newcastle won the Carabao Cup, Howe was under pressure to deliver after a below par 2023/24 campaign.

Despite winning it, he is under a different type of pressure now. The game against Barca at the Nou Camp has a cup final feel to it this week.

Defeat will be far from a disgrace of course, but it could spell the last game in Europe for a while. Three points against Chelsea on Saturday night helped get Newcastle back in touch with the European chasers but they still have work to do.

If Newcastle are dumped out of Europe - and left out of pocket - there will be a hangover vibe to the last eight games of the Premier League season. Failure to get into Europe via the Premier League on the back of the best season in decades will feel like a drop off.

Hopkinson has bravely set Newcastle a challenge to be the top English team by 2030. That is only four seasons away and finishing this term in mid-table does not sit well with that type of ambition does it?

The Canadian's ambition is to be admired. He has spoken about Newcastle being a "rocket ship" ready for take off and that he wants to be surrounded by trophies at future fan talk ins after posing alongside the Carabao Cup last December.

But next season Newcastle could be pot-less. The increased expectations are there for all to see.

How are they going to chase down such ambition with limited resources because of PSR in such a short space of time? All head coach Howe can do is keep digging deep.

He did that Chelsea at the weekend and he will have to pull off his best result ever in Europe to see off Barcelona.

Keeping the dream alive is one thing, feeding the animal Kevin Keegan once described as a "black and white tiger" is something completely different. Happy anniversary one and all, but we all know the next trophy lift can't come soon enough.

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