Newcastle United: 10 Reasons Why They Can Challenge for the Title Next Season

Newcastle United have achieved the unexpected so far this season—challenging for not only the Europa League, but now the Champions League in 2012-13—and there are not many people who can claim that they saw this coming.

Looking ahead, the future looks as bright as it's ever been for the club, and it may be next season that the Toon take another giant leap—joining the Premier League's elite to challenge for the title.

Now, this doesn't necessarily mean that Newcastle have a realistic chance of taking home the silverware next season, but what I am intending to do is to give you 10 reasons why they will at least be up in the top three or four places in their next campaign. 

Less Competition

The title race this season has been a two-horse race for most of the time, with the Manchester clubs—City and United—leading the way.

No longer are the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool considered genuine title contenders and, actually, it's more than likely that they'll finish behind Newcastle this season, never mind next season.

The class of a significant number of teams in the Premier League has dropped, and Newcastle have proven themselves to be better than a lot of supposedly superior teams. The only teams now who can be considered 100 % better than Newcastle at this point are the two aforementioned Mancunian clubs—the two title contenders themselves. 

Spurs Are Doing It

Tottenham Hotspur are a great example of what Newcastle can achieve next season. At times they have been fantastic this season, leading some to believe that, until a short while ago, they were a genuine title contender.

The Spurs' blueprint is being utilized in Newcastle, and if you look closely, many similarities can be drawn between the two clubs and the way they do business.

The creation of this Spurs team really began with the sale of star striker Dimitar Berbatov for £30 million; not dissimilar to Newcastle's sale of their own star No. 9, Andy Carroll, for only £5 million more.

Though the two are big clubs, most of their spending has come courtesy of these two major sales, leaving them with very similar squads.

Both sides are built around fantastic wingers—Tottenham with Gareth Bale and Newcastle with Hatem Ben Arfa—and each have a pair of prolific goal-scorers up front, with the Senegalese duo at Newcastle and Adebayor & Defoe at Tottenham.

Most notably, though, the two teams have fantastic managers in Alan Pardew and Harry Redknapp, both of whom have been touted for the vacant England job for Euro 2012.

Looking at the season-by-season improvements by Spurs, and the similarities between the sides, its not too hard to see that Newcastle could be in the same place in a year's time.

They've Done It Before

For a short spell in the '90s, Newcastle were a perennial title contender, with Keegan's "entertainers" taking it to the dominant Manchester United year-in and year-out.

Of course, the Toon eventually rose from the '90s with not a single piece of silverware to show for their great football, but the fact is they have previously been amongst the Premier League's elite and looked comfortable whilst there.

This Newcastle team is very similar to the team of the '90s, both being led by fantastic No. 9s, and the feeling around the city is very familiar. That same hope, promise and even expectation is creeping back into Tyneside, and this team may well deliver next season.

Previous Results Against the Top Four

Big victories against Manchester United and Liverpool, as well as competitive performances against Manchester City, Arsenal and Spurs have put Newcastle where they are today,and surely show that Newcastle have the talent to keep up with these great teams.

Their 3-0 victory over likely champions Manchester United was one of the performances of the season and, in fact, one of Newcastle's best victories of the entire decade.

Looking forward, taking points off of title contenders is a surefire way to start to actually compete with title contenders for league position, and if Newcastle can continue to grind out good games against teams like this, they'll be set to make a big impact on the EPL next season. 

Their Elite Manager

If this year's title race has taught us anything, its that the importance of a team's manager cannot be underestimated.

On one hand, we have the legend himself, Sir Alex Ferguson, who has dominated English football for years now and has, essentially, been there and done that. This has been reflected in his team's performance, as they've overcome a disadvantaged second-place league position only a few months ago to take control of the entire league. Ferguson has control other his players and he knows what he's doing in intense situations such as this.

On the other hand, we have Roberto Mancini, a great manager in his own right, but one who ultimately hasn't been able to control the personalities on his squad. It seems like every other day Mario Balotelli is in the news for the wrong reasons, and the Carlos Tevez situation is no better either.

Meanwhile in Newcastle, Alan Pardew has controlled the temper of Hatem Ben Arfa, allowing him to flourish as one of the Premier League's most creative players.

If he can manage Demba Ba and his present unhappiness with playing on the wing to cater for Papiss Cisse, whilst still fielding a winning side, he may just see his managerial reputation rise to the point where he has the right to compete with the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson for the title. That's not me saying he's on par with Sir Alex by any means, but Pardew certainly has the quality to be considered one of the best British managers in football along with him.  

International-Quality Players

If you have yet to see Hatem Ben Arfa's goal from Monday's game against Bolton, you should really make a point to find it and watch, as it's a great example of one of the class players this squad's foundation is built upon.

Along with Ben Arfa and his attacking flair, the Toon have an international-quality centre back in Fabricio Coloccini in place, and newly-signed Papiss Cisse in front of goal; the trio bolstering each line of Newcastle's formation.

Beyond that, even Cheik Tiote and Yohan Cabaye, along with Jonas Gutierez, are coming into their own as international-quality players, and as they do, Newcastle will continue to improve and break into the top four. 

Reinforcements

The summer is not too long away now, and that means that the transfer window is nigh.

Reinforcements will be on their way to St. James' Park in the summer to bolster the bench, and maybe even to steal a few starting jobs in weaker areas.

PSV left-back, Erik Pieters, has already been touted as a potential summer signing for the Geordies, as the promising defender is also friends with Toon goalkeeper Tim Krul.

Whoever it is that finds their way to SJP in the next transfer window, you can be sure that Alan Pardew will continue his great transfer record, and ultimately bring in talent that can make this team a title contender. 

The Emergence of Young Players

Though transfer talk will make the headlines for the duration of the summer, it could actually be homegrown talent that helps out Newcastle, and provides a cheaper alternative to improve the team.

Newcastle's youth system has already birthed £35 million man Andy Carroll and a potential England player in Steven Taylor, and if the likes of Sammy Ameobi and Shane Ferguson can follow in their path, their contributions may just be enough to create a title contender.

If a starting quality left-midfielder or left-back is made out of either of the two, it will save a lot of stress and add an extra dimension to this team going forward.

Scouting

Newcastle's scouting the past few years has been simply unbelievable, and chief scout Graham Carr has to take a lot of credit for that.

The scouts have picked out stars such as Cheik Tiote, Yohan Cabaye and Demba Ba to bolster the squad, if not to lead it, and if they continue to do so, a deep unit could be created.

What's more, the scouting system also helps in determining which players not to move for—an underrated function to say the least. There are plenty of players sitting on the benches of teams like Chelsea and Liverpool—who have fallen out of title contention—who are prime examples of poor investments and have ultimately taken the their toll—opening up the space for Newcastle to enter the title race. 

It's About Time

57 years.

That's how long it's been since Newcastle fans have seen a major domestic trophy lifted on Tyneside—the FA Cup in 1955—and it's about time that Newcastle win another one for their loyal supporters.

It's not often that clubs and their fans have to wait this long for some sort of success—especially when their fans are so great. A few other examples from the sporting world stand out—most notably the Chicago Cubs of the MLB—but as far as the EPL is concerned, if all is just it won't be long before Newcastle are amongst the greats of English football once more.