Here is a novel way to solve Newcastle United’s mini-crisis: do nothing.
Well, not nothing exactly. But there is a need for a collective sharp intake of breath on Tyneside at an early-season wobble that feels deeply uncomfortable but is far from terminal for their season.
Last year Newcastle went to Brentford and were beaten 4-2 and the accepted narrative is that Eddie Howe saved the campaign by holding a series of no-holds-barred meetings with errant players to focus minds and reassert his authority.
But those who dig deeper into the metrics believe the reality was more prosaic: Newcastle went on a nine-match winning run because they were a good team who were well-coached and over time the form was always going to correct itself.
Speaking to a well-informed data savvy Premier League source on Monday morning, a similar picture has been drawn of this Newcastle campaign. It feels like a mess but how bad are things?
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 2: Eddie Howe, Manager of Newcastle United on the bench before the Premier League match between West Ham United and Newcastle United at London Stadium on November 2, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Neal Simpson/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
Howe is scratching his head over Newcastle’s start (Photo: Getty)
The underlying performance metrics are actually fairly strong. Good enough to suggest that Newcastle’s displays pitch them (still) as a top-six side.
But with the division tighter than arguably it’s ever been, a few mistakes (both from players and the dugout) have cost them dearly. They are not the only team suffering the same way.
At Brentford, the call to leave Dan Burn on and, in retrospect, to start with Joelinton hurt them. But what is cutting deeper right now are injuries to two full-backs who are absolutely key to the Howe system, and Yoane Wissa – the plug-in-and-play Alexander Isak replacement – having not kicked a ball yet.
Throw into the mix fatigue from midweek exertions – having two young, enterprising and confident Brentford wingers running at two older Newcastle full-backs in Burn and Kieran Trippier was always a worry – and there’s your explanation for the defeat.
It is a tough sell when the demand is to rip things up, but sensible football clubs don’t overreact if they feel the fundamentals are sound.
“No-one wants to hear it when you’re where Newcastle are in the league but if you leave it as it is, the overwhelming probability is it’ll get a lot better over time,” the source says. That’s the diagnosis – tweaks and holding your nerve are the cure.
How will this more sober analysis go down with a restless fanbase? At the margins not that well.
Howe celebrated four years in charge on Saturday and his body of work is enough to put him up there with the very best managers Newcastle have ever had, but football is unrelenting and owners PIF are demanding, despite what sometimes appears to be a slovenly pace of change behind the scenes.
This is the roughest time he’s had at Newcastle. Perhaps to be expected after the summer but it’s not true to say PIF haven’t backed him. Howe wanted players for the here and now: the Saudi owners signed off a big spend on Wissa, a player whose age and profile doesn’t tick their hitherto non-negotiable recruitment boxes, because they wanted to give the manager a chance this season.
Those kind of things – Anthony Elanga at £55m was also another big Howe call – puts an element of pressure on him.
But let’s get real here. They are in the last eight of the Carabao Cup (again) and performing well in the Champions League. There’s not a manager out there better suited to getting them back on track.
The online howls for a change from some fans are surely not serious. They certainly won’t be taken seriously by a club hierarchy that have just allowed him a huge amount of influence in picking the director of football – power, presumably, earned by the incredible transformation of the club he’s led.
He has cast iron support from new CEO David Hopkinson and The i Paper has been told PIF feel the same.
The changes required? Three spring to mind…
Rediscovering their threat
Newcastle had nothing in behind Brentford on Sunday. That is a familiar and recurring problem.
Harvey Barnes likes the ball to his feet, Jacob Murphy doesn’t have the pace to operate there and that is not the game of Nick Woltemade, proscribed in certain quarters as the root of their attacking issues.
The Magpies rely on their front three working but so far they haven’t. Getting Elanga back in form and confident enough to replace Murphy is hugely important after a bad start. And Anthony Gordon – so often the centre of debate at St James’ Park – is hugely important.
Finding the front three formula is the only way the season is going to spark back into life.
A formation change to help Woltemade
Woltemade has made a better first impression than many expected and he’s got so many great attributes – but he needs help. The international break will be spent pondering how that happens.
Might it be time to ponder a change in system to support him. Could a 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 work better than what Newcastle used on Sunday?
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Wilson’s bigger issues
There is not much that can be done about the mess of a summer now and it is often the case that the true success of a transfer window is only apparent two or three years down the line. But there were missteps and, by the end of the window, a short-term focus that seems driven by the manager’s need for players who could plug in and play.
Wilson – who was attending a Premier League-driven meeting of all directors of football of Monday – is not the type to rock the boat. But there does need to be a change of emphasis in recruitment and a better strategy. He is set to speak in the coming weeks – it will be fascinating to see what he says.