Eddie Howe ‘panicked’ as Newcastle away form eviscerated | OneFootball

It’s not often that Newcastle lead the narrative but it’s not often that Newcastle are as bad as they were v West Ham.

We also have mails on Arsenal, Liverpool and more but Newcastle give us a nice change. Watch some Champions League and mail us at theeditor@football365.com

Away the lads (are terrible)

Historically Newcastle have had long spells of rotten results on the road before, particularly in London, but it is the wholesale difference in how NUFC play away vs at home that is a massive problem. Either 20+ imposters are getting on the coach when we play away or there is a major psychological issue with the team in what they do when they turn up somewhere else. It isn’t like we’re even close to the same levels of performance. Rotation isn’t the issue, it is a collective failure of attitude and application.

It is the nature of the performances away which are the most worrying. It is like watching a completely different team. I started to worry when we played Leeds. That was a League Two game in Premier League clothing, both sides were awful. If Newcastle performed even 70-80% like they can they would have walked that game. Bournemouth away was always tough and a point was worth it, the Brighton loss was palmed off as a Welbeck magic show, but Sunday was as low as I’ve felt watching Newcastle for a very long time and I think Howe absolutely was to blame.

Slot got pelters the other week for a tactical mish-mash of throwing players around in positions in a frenzy like it was the last minute of the match, so Howe should get the same here. He panicked at half time, pure and simple. The own goal was a freak, but after the Paqueta goal Newcastle were starting to build some momentum again. To hook Gordon and Woltemade was to take away two players who could have made something happen. We ended the game with Tonali at right back – he was the fourth player to take that position for Newcastle in the match, that sort of tactical dysfunction is way out of character for Howe.

Bruno was terrible and is the best example of this home vs away conundrum, everything had to go through him and when it did everything slowed down. At home he is our beating heart and primary creator, away he was worse than a passenger, he was holding everything up.

Ramsey tried hard in a kind of No.10 role but looks to be another athlete when we needed someone like Woltemade with some guile who can do the unexpected. Gordon seems to only turn up in the Champions League games and if anyone wanted him in January for £40-50m I’d take it, but subbing him at half time and putting Joelinton out on the left wing made no sense.

If usually we get a true sense of the season after 10 games then Newcastle are nothing better than a mid-table side. It would take a remarkable run to pull them up to the European slots, and they don’t look like they have it in them. It really wound me up when Murphy said they’ll use the mid-week game to get back on track, as Howe said similar after the Brighton loss. It isn’t the next home game they need to focus on as they don’t have a problem (or as big of a problem) there – they have to target that Brentford game away to turn things around. Beating Athletic Club at home will mean nothing if we follow up by losing away again at the weekend. It needs to be a different attitude and mindset as we should have the ability and skill, what we seem to lack is any psychological belief.

Hopefully not taking too much away from West Ham, you would never have known they can’t defend corners on Sunday’s evidence, but really they only had to play well for about 15-20 minutes to get that win, in the second half Newcastle had nearly 80% of the ball and barely troubled the goalkeeper. Even when some of our injured lot return soon and we see Wissa for the first time that won’t change the mentality of negativity and inferiority we have away and Howe & Co. need to address this urgently for this not to be a season over before Christmas. James, Leeds

Liverpool back, back, back? Hardly…

Liverpool’s first was when Martinez gifted them an open goal.

Liverpool’s second was a massive deflection.

Meanwhile Villa hit the woodwork twice.

Maybe not get ahead of yourselves, eh? Even if it does mean more to you than anyone else. Small margins and all that. Colin Brown

Ever-changing Premier League moods

There is a recurring article somewhere based on the current mood table of clubs’ supporters.

I watched Spurs host an in-form Chelsea team and came away thinking it was, I don’t know, ‘par for the course’. Since, a load of unhappy Spurs fans.

I deduce the most balanced fans, and the ones those mood leagues need to be based on, are the majority of the travelling away fans.

Chelsea were and are the better team and will give all top teams a real proper fight all season. (Moises is the new Vieira) ‘He comes from Ecuador’ – there’s a good chant in there. James the new Lauren but with less of a scowl. A good keeper away from success (does Gianluigi smell or something)?

I mean, Tottenham are the current holders of the UEFA cup, they have injuries to key player , but the summer was, as far as their summers normally go, a success.

Thomas Frank is correctly building or starting to build and it’s gonna take time.

I do not know how ticket prices look compared to Arsenal’s or Chelsea’s but blimey, you were so poor in the league last year, top eight would surely be good progress. Plus Kudus ‘won’ most important signing to boot (in another recent ‘league style’ article) .

I further deduce that after so many second places Arsenal’s away supporters are jittery as £uck , though enjoying their current masterful performances if, as usual , they don’t prioritize being English champions , come early March, that’s gonna catch up with them.

Staying in the Champions league would be a mistake, okay , when you are reigning champs, go for it ! The league cup from here is gonna be more tough, tough fixtures. Key injuries will happen. Personally I hope they aren’t England players in a World Cup year that we could actually fluke.

Liverpool away fans are, I reckon, all aware that a re-jig is necessary and that Slot is the MAN so happy and calm.

We’ve heard United away fans singing their hearts out, probably the best away fans I’d say. Such a purple patch under purple nose keeps them as chirpy as the other lot across the City. If United eventually get sold to Arabia – uff ! that then is a tricky one.

Top of this tree, apologies for such a long mail, would have to be Bournemouth and though their fans are but a few it is surely dreamtime.

Many more Sunderland travellers must be sweetly awaiting victory in the crucial derby, while I have sympathy for Newcastle fans with the PIF ownership, at least the Spanish match commentators mis-pronounce your coach’s name as ‘whore-way’ – close to Howey the lads ! Palace’s fans would be up there though the old vultures are circling, and all their fab, shiney things, as the fans probably know, will get magpied away.

Somewhere down below but now looking up are West Ham, Forest, Everton fans.

To finish, to Villa’s Holte Enders, with Unai there is always a chance of UEFA glory so don’t be too grumpy. ‘82 was half a life time ago. Cheerio. Peter (Cherries up at City was match of the weekend) Andalucia

Arsenal form surely more sustainable

Sorry for the woke title, but lots of people have asked how sustainable Arsenal’s reliance on set pieces can be. Personally I think it’s more sustainable than, lets say, Haaland being responsible for 90% of all City’s goals. In a strange way, this season could define whether football really is a team sport, or do you only need a generationally good striker to win it? John (Haaland is the best striker the League has ever seen. He isn’t however the best player, that’s Henry and always will be) Matrix

Lay off Benjamin Sesko

Another day, another article from F365 criticising Sesko…. This time he ‘needs to be replaced’.

Genuine question – what does F365 consider a reasonable period of time to give a 22 year old striker in a new country/league, before they decide that he needs to be replaced?

Is it REALLY 586 mins of playing time?

Only F365 would seriously be demanding the replacement of a young player after the equivalent of 6 games. No real journalist could get away with it.

Readers with any interest at all in unbiased analysis may like to note that:

Ekitike has scored one more goal than Sesko despite playing an almost identical number of minutes in the PL.

Gyokeres has scored one more (non-penalty) goal than Sesko having played an extra 217 mins of PL football.

Isak has an almost identical mins/goals ratio to Sesko in the PL this season.

I look forward to reading about how all these ‘flops’ need to be replaced, on the website tomorrow. Especially those who are older and more developed players than Sesko (all of them).

Unless, of course, F365 has now entirely abandoned any efforts to generate unbiased football content… RQT (MUFC)

(The piece literally says ‘Sesko has had a positive start at Old Trafford. His two goals in 10 Premier League games do not tell the whole story as he has the necessary physical attributes to develop into a brilliant No.9 for Man Utd in the long term’ – Ed)

The most annoying football phrase?