Just weeks after Wayne Rooney warned Newcastle fans to be careful on what they wished for, Match of the Day 2's panel could not have been more off point on Sunday night
Ben Foster and Pat Nevin, inset
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Newcastle United deserve better than to be patronised by TV pundits when it comes to how they should feel about the club they watch every week.
On Sunday night, Match of the Day 2 duo Ben Foster and Pat Nevin warned of the dangers of changing managers and how Newcastle would be better sticking with Eddie Howe. Not for the first time in recent weeks, there was a bit of 'careful what you wish for' about their words.
Foster suggested that if Newcastle were to part ways with Howe, there would be 'so many' top teams sniffing around to snap him up. Unfortunately, that's not the argument, though, is it?
Those who have watched Newcastle every week will tell you that the diagnosis of the black and whites isn't some knee-jerk reaction. It isn't even completely about Howe, but it is his name above the door, and shortcomings have been going on all season.
Cracks were papered over by cup runs and a run to the latter stages of domestic competitions, and the last 16 of the Champions League was respectable. Sitting in 14th place with just 12 wins from 32 matches, that's worthy of a conversation.
This hasn't just come about in the last couple of weeks. It's been going on all season. Losing to newly promoted Sunderland twice, Brentford (a), West Ham (a), Wolves (a) and now Crystal Palace, to name but a few days of despair. Chucking leads away at St James' Park against the Bees, Everton, and an awful Spurs team at home are also right up there.
Something is not right about the way a team and squad that has cost millions and millions of pounds to assemble are operating right now. Yes, they could still get into Europe, but to do it they'd need six wins from six and do something they haven't managed all campaign.
From selection inconsistencies to strange body language throughout a long, hard season. Newcastle players arrived at Selhurst Park looking glum, and it was followed by a depressing performance.
Looking back, it was obvious that Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa had already been told their fate for the afternoon, another day of bench warming for two players that were banging the goals in for Brentford and Stuttgart last season.
Howe stated on Sunday night that he does not pick his team based on transfer fees when pressed on what the problem is with Big Nick and Wissa - who cost £124m last summer. That is only part of the problem in truth, but a sizeable one.
Basic failings have cost Newcastle dear this season. The loss of 25 points from winning positions is criminal.
Failure to play Woltemade in the right position and an inability to provide him with service has cost Newcastle dear in 2025/26.
Switching off when ahead in games suggests a focus problem, or perhaps a communication issue in the dressing room. During the 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace, Newcastle players opted to drop back when told to push on and try for more goals.
We know this because Howe, somewhat remarkably, shared it with journalists in the direct aftermath of the game. That should be a big enough concern in itself but the lack of a Plan B, baffling substitutions and odd selection decisions have pretty much destroyed Newcastle's season.
Given Joelinton is never far away from a yellow card, why was he used at all at Palace when he was just a caution away from a two-game ban? The yellow card threat was over after Selhurst Park but Newcastle walked into a very clear situation with their eyes wide open!
Howe was irked when it was put to him his team didn't have a Plan B earlier in the season and pointed to the fact it was really about Plan A. The problem is that if Plan A is 4-3-3 and a bit of 'intensity is our identity', then opposing managers already know what will happen.
There's no issue starting William Osula against Palace; he scored and had another good chance. But Woltemade and Wissa, watching on in what had turned into the most important game of the season, had me and others scratching our heads.
Woltemade was handed a small timeframe to succeed against Palace, and Wissa was afforded just 30 seconds to make an impact. Good luck with that! Woltemade managed one touch in seven minutes, and inevitably, Wissa did not touch the ball at all.
The train journey home was interesting. Views ranged from Howe taking the team as far it can go, Howe being found out by other teams and managers, and a rethink on recruitment going into the summer. If we have limited funds to spend, why are we spending most of it on two players who cost £124m and can't get into the team?
Howe guided Newcastle to their first trophy lift since 1969. He has the respect he deserves from Toon fans. But what is the plan going forward? Does winning the Carabao Cup guarantee a free hit for any manager?
And is it a good idea to give the same manager another barrow full of cash this summer and expect it all to come good so soon after a horrendous shopping spree that has left Newcastle in a worse state than a clutch of teams who have spent a fraction on their squad? That's debatable.
After Sunday's train journey back from the Smoke, the train ground to a halt at 22:09 at Central Station. Having digested the defeat, the enthusiasm of the fans was far from dampened.
As the doors slid open, one shouted 'see for Arsenal in two weeks, mate!' The masses of black and white then made their way home, and a huge roar reverberated around the Grade I listed platform: "Newcastle United, we'll never be defeated."
It's some effort to dedicate the whole of Sunday travelling 622 miles to support a team that couldn't even hold out for a few minutes to get a point against mid-table Palace. That's why the Newcastle faithful deserve a lot better than being branded as complainers on primetime terrestrial TV merely for venturing an opinion on Howe.
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