Looked Like Newcastle United Had Been Out Partying – Former PL Star | OneFootball

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Former Premier League winger Perry Groves believes Newcastle United have lost their identity away from home in the league, following another bad result for the Magpies and questioned their energy levels.

Eddie Howe saw his side’s poor start to their Premier League campaign continue on Sunday with a 3-1 loss at Brentford.

Newcastle did lead at half time through a Harvey Barnes goal, but in the second half Brentford’s energy was something the Magpies found difficult to live with.

Goals came from Kevin Schade and Igor Thiago (two), while Newcastle were reduced to ten men when Dan Burn was sent off in the 73rd minute.

Newcastle sit just 14th in the Premier League table, having lost five games and with a goal difference of minus three; something which flies in the face of one former Newcastle star recently insisting he really likes the progress the club have made.

Groves thinks there is a big case to say Newcastle have lost their identity in away matches this season and pointed towards a worrying lack of goals as a big issue.

“It is nine Premier League games without a win away from home and they haven’t scored more than once in those nine games.”

The former Premier League winger stressed that Newcastle’s energy levels just collapsed in the second half at Brentford and is clear Howe needs to be rotating much more after Champions League games.

“It honestly looked [in the second half] like they’d all been out partying.

“You know when you just see a team have no energy?

“They had nothing left, so I think what Eddie Howe has got to do is he has to think from midweek games, where obviously they are playing really well in the Champions League, he has got to make more changes on the Sunday when they play.

“Because he only made one change today and you could tell that sort of went against them in that second half.”

Last week, one former Premier League striker claimed that Howe changes so little that it is largely easy to predict which starting eleven he will choose.