Inside Newcastle 2.0 - how the project is changing

An era was ending at Newcastle United , but few would have suspected it at the time.

As the team flew home last month, following a 4-1 defeat by Bristol City, Eddie Howe spent the journey watching a chunk of the game back.

Even then, in the final hours of his reign, the head coach who ended Newcastle 's long wait for silverware was trying to find answers, to look at what had gone wrong in a seemingly meaningless pre-season friendly at Ashton Gate.

It emerged in public the following morning that a drained Howe had stepped down.

He informed the club's hierarchy of his wish a couple of weeks prior, only to agree to stay on until a successor, Matthias Jaissle, was found.

In truth, though, a new cycle was already beginning on Tyneside.

Following a damaging transfer window last summer, and a bruising domestic season, Newcastle have shifted their approach.

They have pivoted towards targeting younger players on the continent, strengthened their data operation and adopted a trading model, which has become especially necessary as part of a restrictive settlement following the club's breach of Uefa's financial rules.