Newcastle United's English head coach Eddie Howe is pictured before the start of the English Premier League football match between Newcastle United and Sunderland at St James' Park in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, north east England on March 22, 2026. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP via Getty Images)placeholder image
Newcastle United's English head coach Eddie Howe is pictured before the start of the English Premier League football match between Newcastle United and Sunderland at St James' Park in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, north east England on March 22, 2026. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images
A painful derby defeat to Sunderland underlines what we already knew about Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United.
Take away the emotion of another Tyne-Wear derby day defeat, and Newcastle United’s performance against Sunderland should come as no surprise.
It is the epitome of what this team has become under Eddie Howe this season. Take the lead and surrender. And when the opposition sits in, there is a lack of creativity or guile to break them down.
Ten minutes on the clock and Newcastle were gift-wrapped an opener by Luke O’Nien. The Howe side of old would have gone for the throat. Now, they are incapable of doing so.
They are also incapable of defending leads, that’s now 22 points dropped from winning positions. Defeats to West Ham United, Brentford (twice), Everton and Sunderland (twice) were supposedly turning points. The reality is, Howe & co aren’t learning from their mistakes.
On current evidence, it is a process that has grown tired. The same 4-3-3 system and the same like-for-like substitutes have become predictable. Something needs to change.
At present, it is mediocre, which is hardly befitting of a football club that claims it wants to be in the conversation for being among the top clubs in the world by 2030. You can’t fault ambition; setting the bar high raises standards, but right now, it’s a fantasy.
There are questions that should be asked of the ownership, as the ‘project’ all feels a bit slow. But the most concerning thing currently is Howe and his group of players.
Following the Carabao Cup win last year, it is a team that has been in decline. They limped over the Champions League qualification line before enduring a nightmare summer.
Yes, Newcastle lost one of the best strikers in world football in Alexander Isak, but it is an excuse that can no longer wash, not least when Howe has had seven months to bed in his new signings.
Selling Isak was damaging but what was perhaps even more damaging was their £250million transfer spend. Around £120m of that went on two strikers, one of which was deployed in midfield against Sunderland, while the other was on the bench again.
Howe has assembled this squad, which is why it is hard to look beyond him when it comes to Newcastle United’s struggles. These are struggles that have been going on for a while, it’s just that a painful defeat against your bitter rivals underlines it.
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