What has happened with Newcastle United?
That is the question the fans and media are asking.
Eddie Howe and his team losing three matches in a row for the first time in over 26 months.
A statistic that is both mind blowing (the fact this hasn’t happened in such a long time, as a long-time fan this wouldn’t hardly have raised an eyebrow not so long ago) and worrying (when the stakes are so high and you now have hopes and expectations) at the same time.
Well, I don’t think any of it is that complicated.
Maybe Eddie Howe could have been doing things differently in recent times that would have helped BUT surely only total fools can’t see that we have been up against horrendous odds.
To get anything out of the last three away games needed a miracle.
Away to the reigning Champions League holders, away to the reigning Premier League holders, away to the manager and team who have dominated English football these past ten years.
Throw in the small matter of missing Bruno, Joelinton and Tino (as well as Schar and others), this was as tough as it could possibly get.
The thing is as well, PSG needed to win to get automatic progress to the last 16, Liverpool needed to win if they are going to stand a decent chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League, whilst Manchester City were two up from the first leg and holding all the aces.
In the event, United were unbelievable in Paris after a tough opening 25 minutes, over the course of the rest of the match NUFC were excellent, the better and more threatening team in the second half and should have won it in the end. Well worth the draw as a minimum.
A few days later Newcastle United carried that last 60+ minutes in Paris, into the Liverpool match. The first 40 minutes there was only one team in it. Gordon scored, Barnes denied by the post, other great situations not taken advantage of, Newcastle won seven corners in the opening 27 minutes as Liverpool failed to win a single one, those set-pieces not taken advantage of against a team who have struggled to defend them this season.
Newcastle could and should have been two or three up and then we all know what happened, having failed to properly punish the home side, Liverpool then take advantage of individual mistakes and their £200m+ duo Wirtz and Ekitike at the heart of punishing the NUFC frailties.
Those individual mistakes and frailties carrying over into the Manchester City match, 3-0 down in 32 minutes. Yet the next 60+ minutes saw United ‘win’ the rest of the match and it was crazy by the end of the game, just how many clear chances Newcastle United had created, as well as Elanga’s stunning goal.
Nobody is suggesting that overall, across the totality of both matches, Newcastle deserved to win either. However, some of the play and sheer number of chances created, they weren’t the annihilations that many are wanting to push.
It is a bit of a recurring theme, failing to take chances and individual mistakes at the other end getting punished. Missing key players, so many injuries, so many matches, no settled defence across the season due to injuries, now the same players having to play pretty much every match.
Which brings us to Saturday, the Brentford straw that broke the Camel’s back, for some anyway.
Eddie Howe and his side play a team who are a really solid Premier League hardened team who are in great form, down to 10 men the previous weekend and yet they still beat Aston Villa away. The Bees now have only two defeats in their last ten Premier League matches, have won six of their last nine. They have had the exact same season so far as Liverpool, Brentford on the same points and goal difference as the scousers.
Brentford with once again a whole free week to prepare to face Newcastle United. The bookies made Newcastle only a 50/50 chance of winning on Saturday, an even money chance. You can keep repeating your mantra of ‘A disgrace not beating teams like Brentford…’ as much as you like BUT Brentford have a habit this season of not losing and very often winning, against Liverpool, Man U, Villa…
On Saturday, I felt it was a bit like Newcastle United were a featherweight who had been battered by three super heavyweights (PSG, Liverpool, Manchester City) and then go in against somebody they would normally expect to beat and not in great physical state.
Kieran Trippier looks physically knackered but nobody else (Tino, Krafth and Miley all out) to play there at the minute, he and Jacob Murphy were terrible, guessing he (JM) probably not fully fit. Same with Bruno but he is just a machine (and a great player) who can just keep on going, clearly not 100% physically but still one of United’s best players (Yes, I know, not difficult!) on Saturday.
If Newcastle United had played Brentford 10 days earlier, the night when they faced PSG, then I think NUFC would still have won despite the form the Bees have recently shown.
However, on Saturday I think a case of a confident Brentford in great form and with a team of players able to physically give more than their opponents who’d had such a punishing schedule, they played well, took their chances, punished mistakes, plus a bit of a harsh penalty on Murphy.
These aren’t excuses, they are just facts. Facts that reduced Newcastle’s chances of winning on Saturday and increased Brentford’s.
Of course everybody has to do better, take the chances, not make mistakes, gel better as a defence and as a team overall.
Against Spurs tonight, even though it is an away match, there are far less reasons/excuses for Newcastle United not playing well and winning. Spurs have key players missing as well, they have a similarly punishing schedule and physically, no reason why they should be expected to overpower Eddie Howe’s side.