Sandro Tonali and the tactical tweak that changed the face of Newcastle's season
The 2024–25 season was undeniably one of the best in Newcastle's history.
Not only did they clinch their first domestic trophy in 70 years after defeating Liverpool 2–1 to lift the Carabao Cup, but they also secured Champions League qualification for the second time in three years after edging out Aston Villa on goal difference.
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However, heading into the festive period, things were looking very different for Eddie Howe's side. Despite still being in both domestic cups, a resounding 4–2 loss away at Brentford on December 7 left them 12th in the table, with seemingly nothing to play for in the league.
But a run of nine straight wins in all competitions — including six in the league — transformed Newcastle's season. Unsurprisingly, it coincided with Sandro Tonali beginning to make his newfound No 6 role, — where he was first deployed against Crystal Palace on November 30 — his own.
On the latest episode of Pod On The Tyne, Taylor Payne and George Caulkin discussed how pushing Tonali deeper changed the face of Newcastle's midfield and their season.
A partial transcript has been edited for this article. The full episode is available on the 'Pod On The Tyne' feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Taylor: George, after a mixed start to the season, there was a remarkable uptick in form, consistency, attitude and application, and all over the pitch Newcastle seemed to kick into gear. That midfield rejig we touched on earlier was really the springboard for it all wasn't it?
George: Yeah it was, and that had actually happened before results turned around, but only only just before they did. It was the 1-1 draw away at Crystal Palace where Tonali had been moved back into that deeper position. It's funny because we talk about it as being a defensive role, but Tonali still manages to run more than anybody else. So that idea of him just sitting in front of the back four, tidying things up and playing the ball simply, that's just not what he does. He's absolutely everywhere, that's the incredible thing about him. But it was such a big deal, and they saw signs in there that perhaps that was the answer. It took another major reset after Brentford away, and we all heard on this podcast how that loss affected Chris. I've never heard of a flatter or more broken Chris before. But then they were fortunate to play against a Leicester team after that who were so naive that day in mid-December, and were battered 4-0. They were precisely the opponents that Newcastle needed.
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Having that week of total reset at the training ground was vital. Howe took all his players aside and tried to explain to them that what was happening wasn't acceptable. And that God forbid if any of the players wanted to leave, the only way they could do that was by playing well for Newcastle. He was also trying to get into their heads by showing them clips of where it was going wrong and starting again. The players themselves had a meeting, and they knew it wasn't right. Then finally when it clicked, they just didn't look back. But that run of games where they got nine wins in a row was extraordinary because it took them to mid-January, and by that time the season was beginning to look very different.
Taylor: Steven Levy on X agrees with us, and he said, 'The moment of the season was when Howe saw the light and moved Tonali to play No. 6, everything changed from that point on.'
George: I must say that there is this idea that Eddie Howe was reluctant to play Tonali in that position, and I honestly think that's unfair. When Tonali arrived at the start of the previous season, there was talk of Newcastle playing with a sort of double-pivot. The idea was that Tonali and Bruno were interchangeable, where one would go and the other would stay. Whether or not that would have come to fruition, we don't know because it wasn't working seamlessly at that point. But then Tonali was obviously out of the team for a while, so when he came back into the team this season it took him a while to adjust. To play in a position where you're going to end up running more than anybody else, you can't just do that straight away on day one. So it's taken him time to get his match fitness back. And running was one of the very specific things that Howe and his staff worked on with Tonali.
There were specific things that the coaches were doing with Tonali to get him up to speed, Chris and I wrote about this earlier in the season. They took apart his running action and started again with it, which made him more efficient and changed his gate. So you're now left with a player who runs more than any other player in the Newcastle team, and more than anyone else in most other Premier League midfields. That has been massively beneficial for Newcastle. But to say that it was down to Eddie Howe to see the light about where he could play, that's only part of it. It's also about the player himself understanding what's being asked of him, and the changes to his technique that were implemented during his time out. So I just think it's slightly more rounded than that, but his impact this season can't be overstated.
You can listen to full episodes of 'Pod On The Tyne' for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify
(Top Photo: Visionhaus/Getty Images)
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(Illustration: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic; Manan Vatsyayana/AFP, Odd Andersen, Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
