Alan Shearer and Gary Neville are right - there are questions to answer at Newcastle United

For the first time since a Saudi-led takeover was completed in October 2022, questions are being asked the direction Newcastle United are heading.

That takeover heralded a serious upturn in fortunes on and off the pitch at St James Park as the appointment of Eddie Howe and several eye-catching additions saw the Magpies converted from Championship relegation candidates to Champions League contenders. Off the pitch, ambitious appointments were made, supporter engagement felt vastly improved and the cold, callous nature of the previous owner and his team seemed to be a thing of the distant past. Positivity has been the emotion upon which a new Newcastle has been fired over the last two years. Yet recently, with a frustrating transfer window now consigned to the history books, Howe’s squad has been left lopsided and there appears to be some deficiencies within the Magpies ranks. There are questions to be answered - and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville delivered an assessment that will resonate with supporters over the weekend.

Speaking on the broadcaster's coverage of Sunday’s home win against Tottenham Hotspur, the former Manchester United full-back said: "I think what they’ve actually done in those first couple of years is build a really good foundation and they’ve been measured. I think we’ve all said they’ve done really well and expected them to be flamboyant, maybe a bit eccentric. We’ve seen what Chelsea have done with all of that money. Newcastle have been measured and I think they've done a really good job. I think just listening to Eddie there in his interview, I would suggest that he feels disappointed by what's happened in the last few months. To be honest with you, I don't think you need to be a rocket scientist to work out he should be disappointed. They should have got better players in for them having lost the players that they've lost. I think now it's on that crossroads moment that was always going to come a couple of years in. What do you do next? How do you then take it on to that next level? How do you support Eddie Howe to get to where he needs to get to? It's a very challenging moment that we're about to embark upon?"

The lack of clarity over what has played out at St James Park in recent months continues to cloud what has been a positive start to the season on the pitch. Although it would be disingenuous to suggest Howe’s side have hit the levels they reached when they secured a place in last season’s Champions League by beating the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Chelsea to a top four place during the previous Premier League season. That side was full of power, intensity and intent and although there have been pangs of all three attributes during the opening games of the current season, it would be foolish to state they have been a consistent presence in an unbeaten start to the campaign.

The early-summer issues with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations have unquestionably left a lingering impact on what has come to pass during the final month of the window. The respective sales of young duo Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson to Brighton and Hove Albion and Nottingham Forest may well have helped Newcastle escape a possible points deduction - but for the first time since the PIF-led takeover at St James Park took place in October 2022, an air of uncertainty and chaos seemed to envelope the club.

Howe, to his credit, continued to front up to some challenging questions over the direction and ambition of the owners, his own future and the way business has been conducted throughout a transfer window many inside St James Park have claimed to be the most difficult of their time in the game. The Magpies boss has, when possible, shown an openness and honesty to answer those awkward questions that required measured responses as supporter frustrations hit levels not seen since the previous owners time in charge, when genuine investment and ambition were conspicuous by their absence. These questions, given the setup behind the scenes at Newcastle, were not really Howe’s to answer. In the words of the Magpies all-time record goalscorer and former captain Alan Shearer, it was not fair for Howe to front up when those at the coal face of transfer negotiations sit in the background.

He told The Rest is Football Podcast: “Do you know what? I don’t understand and what I’d like to see change, and not only at Newcastle, with every football club, we are now seeing more and more, it’s coaches now, rather than managers. We’re now seeing more and more sporting directors or chief executives who are buying the players for the coach. Yet, we are seeing the coach having to come out and explain all of these decisions and sometimes the coach hasn’t got a clue what’s going on. Eddie said it himself this week, he didn’t really know - so I would like more sporting directors, or whoever is making the decisions, to then come out and explain how it is or what it is because I don’t think it’s fair on the coach all the time to front up every single week and having to answer questions they don’t know the answers to.”

In going through three games unbeaten in the Premier League and progressing in the Carabao Cup, Howe has given some respite to those above him in the hierarchy after a difficult transfer window. But the international break has given time to reflect and to offer a measured response to genuine concerns from supporters and others who hold the club close to their heart. As Neville said, Newcastle are approaching a ‘very difficult moment’ and a United front is required from all levels at St James Park. That starts from the top and it needs the likes of Eales and Mitchell to give open and honest reflections on an awkward summer. It is the least that Howe, his players and Magpies supporters deserve.