Newcastle United have lost 54 games under Eddie Howe, but few are quite as disappointing as their most recent defeat.
Indeed, Newcastle United lost 3-1 to West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday in what was arguably one of the worst performances of the Howe era.
While it is important to remember that Newcastle were coming off three wins in a week heading into that game, little can excuse such a poor performance.
Alan Shearer believes Newcastle’s loss to West Ham is one of the worst of the Howe era, while supporters have also debated that online.
Here’s our list of Howe’s worst losses during his reign as Newcastle United manager.
They have clearly lost games by bigger margins than some of the ones listed below, but these are the most hapless performances when Newcastle have been in a good position in the minds of Geordie Boot Boys.
Eddie Howe and his Newcastle United players react after losing to West Ham in the Premier League.
Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images
1) West Ham 3-1 Newcastle (Premier League, 2025)
It is genuinely hard to think of a worse Newcastle performance post-takeover. Their loss to the Hammers at home in November 2024 was up there but the east London club weren’t quite in the crisis they found themselves prior to kick-off on Sunday.
The most disappointing thing is that it was so predictable. Howe’s side have been dreadful away from home for months, to the point where they can’t even raise their game when they are gifted an early goal against a team playing in a stadium in which home fans were staging a protest.
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The conditions were there for a thumping Newcastle win and though West Ham deserve credit for their own performance, there’s little doubt Howe’s side made life much easier for them.
2) Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Newcastle (FA Cup, 2023)
Many will perhaps point to the defeat to Cambridge in January 2022 and while that was embarrassing, it was before the Howe era as Newcastle fans know it really started.
He was still working with most of Steve Bruce’s team at the time.
That was not true of their FA Cup trip to Hillsborough a year later. Though Howe didn’t have the squad he has now, Newcastle were flying at the time and still managed to lose to a League One side.
After such a strong start to the season in the Premier League, seeing their FA Cup journey ended so early brought back horrible memories of the Mike Ashley era fans were trying oh so hard to forget.
3) Newcastle United 1-3 Nottingham Forest (Premier League, 2023)
Chris Wood, who missed a brilliant chance against the Owls on that day, would later come back to haunt Newcastle United.
On Boxing Day 2023, Nottingham Forest rocked up to St James’ Park and bossed Howe’s side.
Alexander Isak gave them the lead in the first half but Forest repeatedly caught a lethargic Newcastle on the break in one of the most disjointed home performances of Howe’s tenure.
Newcastle were on a terrible run at the time but still managed to throw a lead away at home against a team who, at that point, had not won in seven games. The fact it was a former player who did all the damage made it even worse.
4) Brentford 4-2 Newcastle United (Premier League, 2024)
In some ways, the recent defeat to West Ham mirrored what happened down at Brentford in December 2024. The Bees, however, were at the time in a much better position than their east London neighbours.
Newcastle were beaten 4-2 at the Gtech Community Stadium after somehow twice finding their way back into the game thanks to goals from Alexander Isak and Harvey Barnes.
Still, they collapsed and the game was eventually put out of sight. While it had more goals to it than the West Ham game, it was an equally haphazard performance that had people asking serious questions about where the team were going at the time.
Obviously, Howe did brilliantly to turn things around to win the Carabao Cup and secure Champions League football a few months later. Hopefully, Sunday’s loss can be a similar turning point.
5) Brighton 3-1 Newcastle United (Premier League, 2023)
An Evan Ferguson hat-trick was enough to condemn Newcastle to a third straight Premier League defeat in September 2023.
They had previously come up against Manchester City and Liverpool but, again, it was the manner of their performance on the south coast that raised alarm bells.
Such was the ease with which the Seagulls played through Newcastle, there were genuine questions about whether or not Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton could form a functioning midfield together.
Callum Wilson’s late strike made the scoreline seem slightly more respectable but there was little else positive that day.