Newcastle United's 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace in the Premier League at Selhurst Park on Sunday will do no good to any rumours that Eddie Howe could lose his job.
It was reported last month by the Daily Mail that the English tactician's long-term future is in doubt and that there is no guarantee that he will be in the dugout next season.
The Magpies lost for the third straight game in all competitions and for the fourth time in the last six Premier League matches, leaving the team in 14th place in the top-flight.
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Howe led Newcastle to fifth and Champions League football in the 2024/25 campaign, but they are currently ten points off fifth place with six matches left to play.
The former Bournemouth boss may feel hard done by at Selhurst Park, though, because the winning penalty for the home side was debatable, to say the least.
Why Sven Botman is not to blame for Newcastle's loss to Crystal Palace
Sven Botman was penalised for a 'foul' on Palace midfielder Jefferson Lerma from a long throw in stoppage time, but the contact was very minimal.
You could make a case for several penalties to be awarded in every Premier League match if that is the standard of contact for a penalty when defending a set piece.
Botman, who won eight of his 13 aerial duels and made two blocks during the match, could have avoided putting any hands on Lerma, but it was no different to what you see across the league from set piece situations every week.
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The Netherlands international did a lot of good work outside of the penalty incident, making four interceptions and five ball recoveries, and should not take the brunt of the blame for the loss, as it was an incredibly harsh penalty decision.
He was far from the worst performer on the pitch for the Magpies in the defeat in London, and one of his teammates should not start again this season.
Worse than Botman: Newcastle's biggest underperformer against Crystal Palace
One of Newcastle's attacking players was an even bigger underperformer than Botman in the loss to Palace, failing to offer a cutting edge to Howe's side in the final third.
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Jacob Murphy was selected to start on the right wing after he came off the bench in the defeats to Sunderland and Barcelona before the international break.
Unfortunately, the former Norwich City forward failed to deliver an impressive performance down the flank, as he came off the field after 89 minutes with no shots on target, no goals, no 'big chances' created, and no assists.
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The 31-year-old winger lost possession a staggering 25 times from 54 touches of the ball, whilst failing with all five of his attempted crosses, in what was an incredibly wasteful showing for the Magpies.
Murphy did not offer quality on the ball, with no 'big chances' created from his 25 losses of possession, and struggled out of position, losing five of his seven ground duels, which is why he was even worse than Botman, who was solid outside of the penalty incident.
The experienced forward was a star for Newcastle and Howe last season, delivering 20 combined goals and assists in the Premier League, but he has not been the same player since Alexander Isak left to sign for Liverpool for £125m.
Murphy in PL 24/25 25/26
Appearances 35 27
xG 5.72 3.05
Goals 8 3
Big chances created 16 9
xA 6.15 2.50
Assists 12 1
Murphy has only recorded four goal contributions in 27 appearances in the Premier League for the Magpies this term, 16 fewer than he managed in the 2024/25 campaign.
He continues to fail to hit the heights that he achieved last term for the club, unfortunately, and his current performances suggest that Howe should not be starting him in the Premier League.
With the likes of Harvey Barnes and Anthony Elanga starting on the bench against Palace, Murphy should not start another Premier League game for Newcastle this season, unless he produces a masterclass off the bench to earn another start.
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