From criticism and seats to success.
Emile Crafth’s season shifted after a controversial change of ownership.
– It was hard at times when you didn’t play and didn’t have confidence, it’s a bit like day and night, says the right-back.
Newcastle came second to last Premier League When the Saudi Public Investment Fund acquired the club in October.
Two weeks later, coach Steve Bruce was fired and replaced by Eddie Howe. It was the beginning of the transformation of Emile Kraft.
The right-back barely managed to play during the first half of the season and was criticized by fans and the media. When new acquisition Kieran Trippier injured himself in February, the Swede initially took a place and has since been a success for himself and the club.
– From the change of owner and coach, I felt very positive for the team and for themselves. I gained a lot of confidence and played a lot,” says Krafth.
– It was tough at times when you didn’t play and you didn’t have confidence, it was like night and day. Now I have a lot of confidence and I feel good in football.
wants to stay
Eddie Howe has been a strong contributor to raising Krafth.
He meant a lot and gave me a lot of confidence. He brought out the best players. We played a lot more offensive football than when we played Steve Bruce. It’s the football that suits me and the team better.
Do you live in the club?
– I still have a contract so I suppose. My family and I are thriving well in England and Newcastle and when all goes well I really hope so.
“Don’t think about it”
Newcastle moved from 20th to 11th after a change of ownership in the fall. However, the change has come under heavy criticism, in part due to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the fund’s chief executive, who has been identified as responsible for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
It was something the club needed and all the fans and the city were waiting for new owners willing to invest in and make Newcastle a great club. Kraft says I’m just happy to be a part of the journey.
But is this a controversial owner?
As a soccer player, you don’t think too much about it. You are there to play football and do your job, which is what you get paid to do. Everything else is above our heads anyway, so there’s not much you can say about it.
Kraft played just a few minutes in Thursday’s Nations League game against Slovenia after falling ill before the rally. But in Sunday’s game against Norway, he is hoping to be ready for 90 minutes.
– It seems so. Now I still have more passes and some time to play, he says.
football.
wants to stay
Eddie Howe has been a strong contributor to raising Krafth.
He meant a lot and gave me a lot of confidence. He brought out the best players. We played a lot more offensive football than when we played Steve Bruce. It’s the football that suits me and the team better.
Do you live in the club?
– I still have a contract so I suppose. My family and I are thriving well in England and Newcastle and when all goes well I really hope so.
“Don’t think about it”
Newcastle moved from 20th to 11th after a change of ownership in the fall. However, the change has come under heavy criticism, in part due to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the fund’s chief executive, who has been identified as responsible for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
It was something the club needed and all the fans and the city were waiting for new owners willing to invest in and make Newcastle a great club. Kraft says I’m just happy to be a part of the journey.
But is this a controversial owner?
As a soccer player, you don’t think too much about it. You are there to play football and do your job, which is what you get paid to do. Everything else is above our heads anyway, so there’s not much more to say about it.
Kraft played just a few minutes in Thursday’s Nations League game against Slovenia after falling ill before the rally. But in Sunday’s game against Norway, he is hoping to be ready for 90 minutes.
– It seems so. Now I still have more passes and some time to play, he says.