Something is wrong at Newcastle United.
A dreadful defeat at West Ham has prompted soul-searching at St James’ Park, and so it should.
Much had been made of the green shoots of recovery as the Magpies strung together a trio of home wins last week but there is no disguising it now – there are gaping issues to solve.
First, the context. This does not feel like the existential dread that hung over the team 12 months ago, when Eddie Howe fretted that the squad had lost focus and the identity of the team was fraying. Newcastle’s squad felt stagnant back then. Few really knew how skillful Howe’s man-management had to be to pull it round.
This time around there is not a sense of unease about player focus. No-one is getting itchy feet and the likes of Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Anthony Gordon are all committed to the club.
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 02: Anthony Elanga of Newcastle United reacts during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Newcastle United at London Stadium on November 02, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Harry Murphy - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Anthony Elanga still remains a work-in-progress (Photo: Getty)
It is not a mentality issue with Newcastle’s generals. They share the frustration that form in Europe hasn’t been replicated domestically and the underlying stats suggest they are better than their results. They sit sixth in Opta’s expected points table.
But making excuses for a bad start to the Premier League won’t help anyone and the worry is that a summer of change might not have actually addressed the problems that have been bubbling away in the background for a while now.
None of this feels especially new at Newcastle. 2025 has been a year of unprecedented success on Tyneside but also a worrying away form trend that gets much less airtime.
Their top-flight record on their travels has been especially stark; a meagre 16 points from a possible 42 with their only wins coming against West Ham, Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton and Leicester City (who were both subsequently relegated).
They have yet to play a single side higher than 10th on the road this season and have collected just three points. For a team that aspire to be annual fixtures in the Champions League, that is simply not good enough.
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 02: Joelinton of Newcastle United during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Newcastle United at London Stadium on November 02, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
Joelinton finds himself out of form this season (Photo: Getty)
Similarly, when was the last time this team laid down a marker against a top team? Howe’s sides have relished giving the elite a bloody nose in recent years but have lost to Arsenal and Liverpool this season. Performances at Bournemouth and Brighton weren’t up to much either.
So what is going wrong? Clearly this is a side in transition as they look to adapt after Alexander Isak’s sale and injuries to Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall take a huge bite out of Howe’s love of building attacks from wide areas.
Factor into that the inconsistency of Gordon and other wide forwards and it is no wonder Newcastle aren’t packing much attacking punch.
Summer signing Anthony Elanga is nowhere near it at the moment while Nick Woltemade, a joy to watch at his best, is scoring goals but not always influencing games.
There are some uncomfortable questions to ask, too.
Newcastle, at their Howe-inspired best, are a pressing machine that are true to their motto that “intensity is our identity”.
Think of the away win at Old Trafford last Christmas as the blueprint – Newcastle’s midfield three of Joelinton, Guimaraes and Tonali chasing Manchester United’s ageing engine room around the pitch for 45 minutes.
But those levels have been reached only occasionally this season with Joelinton, in particular, struggling for form.
In an interesting sub-plot to a summer spent obsessing over Isak, The i Paper understands there were a few voices suggesting that Newcastle needed to construct a succession plan to the Brazil international, who has had his issues with injuries.
Ederson, the box-to-box Atalanta midfielder who is a compatriot of Joelinton’s, is one of the names that has been mentioned in recruitment meetings.
It is not in Howe’s nature to rip things up – he would have retained Callum Wilson over the close season if an agreement could have been reached – but Newcastle need to prove they are evolving and fast.
If they dispatch Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday, and given they are a different team at St James’ Park you would back them to do just that, they will have one foot in the Champions League play-offs at a minimum and that is progress.
But, as with everything in what is turning into a curious year, that perhaps only tells part of the story.