CRAIG HOPE: Should Newcastle go for Carabao Cup glory or a Champions League place? There's only one right answer to keep the project on track
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There was a debate in the Newcastle press room this week as to what was more important to the club - winning the Carabao Cup or qualifying for the Champions League. The conclusion was thus - a big club, the club Newcastle want to be, would go and do both.
![[Eddie Howe will pick his strongest team for the Carabao Cup first leg semi-final vs Arsenal]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/06/23/93807731-14256321-image-a-17_1736207849587.jpg)
Financially, the Champions League trumps the Carabao, of course. Indeed, a bonus pool in excess of £1million paid to the players if they win the latter would be 10 times the £100,000 prize money that the club would get from the EFL. But there is a bigger picture beyond the one drawn on a balance sheet. Lifting a domestic cup, 70 years on from the last, would generate an untold fortune in its own right.
![[The likes of Alexander Isak, who has been in sensational form this season, will feature]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/06/23/93807745-14256321-image-a-18_1736207889489.jpg)
That is why Eddie Howe will pick his strongest XI for Tuesday's semi-final first leg at Arsenal. That is why he did so in the last round at home to Brentford, despite it coming a few days before a set of festive fixtures he very much needed to win. And that is why every star name who has signed a new contract in the past 18 months has spoken so passionately about being part of the team that finally delivers a trophy. That, above all else, is their motivation.
![[Champions League qualification, however, is a necessity to keep the likes of Bruno Guimaraes]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/06/23/93807791-14256321-image-a-19_1736207993471.jpg)
There comes a time in the journey of a club when those involved want, and need, to see their reflection in silverware and not just the mirror. And goodness, Newcastle United have been staring into a mirror for long enough now. They've broken a fair few in the past half a century, too.
![[The big players at St James' Park want Champions League football as a staple of their diet]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/07/00/93807795-14256321-image-a-20_1736208051663.jpg)
So when Saudi owners came along in 2021, it felt as if their luck had changed. The truth is, nothing will really change until they win something. The most infamous trophy drought in English football means the club is still marked by the debris of its past, living amid its own ruins.
![[Howe told Mail Sport that his Newcastle side play best when they 'don't overthink things']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/07/00/93807863-14256321-image-a-21_1736208168828.jpg)
