Five things we learned from Newcastle's dreadful 3-1 defeat to West Ham at the London Stadium
Newcastle players and manager Eddie Howe look glum as they applaud the fans
Newcastle players and manager Eddie Howe look glum as they applaud the fans
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Newcastle United put in a dreadful performance as they were beaten 3-1 by struggling West Ham United at the London Stadium.
Despite Jacob Murphy's excellent finish firing the Magpies into a fourth minute lead, Eddie Howe's side's lethargic display allowed a West Ham side who looked flat and devoid of confidence after winning just one of their opening nine matches back into the game.
Lucas Paqueta equalised after Nick Pope allowed his shot to squeeze through his hands at the near post before Sven Botman's own goal meant Newcastle went in at half-time 2-1 down.
Howe made three changes at half-time as he looked to change the tide of the game but as much as they huffed and puffed in their search for an equaliser they lacked the creativity to find one. And they were ultimately sucker-punched on the break in stoppage time as Tomas Soucek was first to the ball after Jarrod Bowen's initial effort squirmed through Pope's legs.
Here are five things we learned from a disappointing afternoon in East London.
Shay Given disappointed
The former Newcastle goalkeeper was in the Sky Sports studio and he grimaced as he criticised Pope for West Ham's first goal.
But it wasn't how he allowed the effort from Paqueta to squeeze past him that left him disappointed, but his decision to punch the initial cross from Crysencio Summerville rather than catching it.
"What I would say is I was really disappointed he didn't catch the first one, the original cross," Given said on Sky Sports. "It looped and because of his size and stature, and because he's so good at claiming stuff I think he can probably catch it. There's no one really challenging him.
"It's a relatively good punch but then again, Paqueta shooting from there, Nick will look back and think he should save it really. It moved a bit to be fair, it moves and dips a little bit right at the death but he will still be disappointed as a goalkeeper."
Pope has been excellent this season but he will be disappointed by how Bowen's effort managed to squirm through his legs for Soucek to score the third goal as well.
He will be well aware Aaron Ramsdale is waiting in the wings if his performance level dips and he must ensure this display remains an anomaly in an otherwise impressive season.
Tomas Soucek of West Ham United scores his team's third goal past Nick Pope
Tomas Soucek of West Ham United scores his team's third goal past Nick Pope
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Full-backs are an issue
Emil Krafth made his first Premier League start since September 2024 in the absence of Kieran Trippier through illness, although he did start in Wednesday's 2-0 win over Tottenham in the Carabao Cup fourth round.
And with Krafth on one side and Dan Burn on the other, Newcastle's full-backs struggled to affect the game positively at either end.
Burn has played every minute of every game this season, aside from the win over Bradford City in the Carabao Cup, and he looked like a player who was feeling the physical impact of that on Sunday afternoon. He had no support from Anthony Gordon in front of him either but he looked like a player in need of a rest, so Lewis Hall's presence on the bench was a real positive for Newcastle.
The 33-year-old is a centre-back by trade and although he has performed admirably at left-back, it is not his natural position and when both full-backs are limited it is hard to build attacks in the way we have become used to under Howe.
Krafth showed why he is Newcastle's third choice right-back. He didn't necessarily do anything wrong but he lacked the quality of Trippier or Tino Livramento to affect Newcastle's attacking output.
It was no surprise to see him replaced at half-time and quite damning that Malick Thiaw and Murphy were used as makeshift full-backs in his place.
Away day woes continue
Newcastle are now winless in their last eight away Premier League matches, and have failed to score in four of those games. They last had a longer away winless run of nine games between August and December 2021, crossing over between the end of Steve Bruce's time in charge and the start of Howe's.
Even their excellent record at the London Stadium couldn't save them, having lost just one of their previous nine games there since West Ham left Upton Park.
With two of their next three Premier League matches away from home, and with them languishing in 13th place in the table, it is something Howe must rectify quickly.
Callum Wilson gets reception he deserves
Wilson made just his second start for the Hammers since joining them on a free transfer from Newcastle in the summer. While he didn't score, he held the ball up well and was a focal point for West Ham to build their attacks.
He was replaced in the second half and was given an excellent ovation from the away end who launched into a rendition of the 'Hey Callum Wilson chant'.
Although his final appearance for Newcastle against Everton last season felt like a goodbye, this was a chance for the Newcastle fans to give him a proper farewell after his exit was officially confirmed.
Callum Wilson of West Ham claps Newcastle fans
Callum Wilson of West Ham claps Newcastle fans(Image: 2025 Newcastle United)
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26 seconds sum up ruthless Newcastle's best side
The Magpies' opening goal feels like it was an awful long time ago but if United are to cling to any positives, it was the way in which they punished West Ham to grab that goal.
An excellent run from Crysencio Summerville opened up some space for Bowen and he cracked the post with a brilliant left-footed effort that had Pope beaten.
From that, Newcastle took just 26 seconds to ruthlessly punish them as a counter-attack of their own ended up with Murphy rifling home an effort from the edge of the area into Alphonse Areola's bottom right-hand corner.
Newcastle are known for how effective they are, both at pressing and in transition, and the speed in which they punished the Hammers showed just how lethal they can be. It is just a shame the rest of their performance didn't match that intensity.
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