At times last season, Eddie Howe would have turned to his Newcastle United substitutes bench to be met with a row of Under-21 and Academy players. While opportunities for youngsters are always a positive, the game-changing options available to the Magpies head coach were alarmingly thin on the ground on too many occasions in the last campaign.
Injuries took a huge toll on the squad, impacting not only those who saw their season ruined, but also the players who were forced to carry on in, week-in, week-out in a gruelling schedule of Premier League, Champions League and domestic cup football.
Of course injuries and suspensions are part of the game and something every club will deal with, and United will kick off the new campaign without Sven Botman, Lewis Miley and Jamaal Lascelles, with the trio recovering from long-term........