Eddie Howe looked more despondent than he sounded. The Newcastle United head coach had watched his side ship four sloppy goals against Brentford which, on a sliding scale, ranged from the poor to the abysmal, and he was struggling to offer answers.
“It’s difficult to work out,” he said after the 4-2 defeat at the Gtech Community Stadium. “We’re still up and down, still inconsistent.”
That is an understatement.
Ahead of a three-game period that will likely shape their campaign, Newcastle’s only consistent characteristic is their befuddling, exasperating inconsistency. Their wildly vacillating form no longer surprises because it has become expected and the head coach is finding it increasingly difficult to explain or to convince that he is close to unearthing solutions.
December always had the potential to define Newcastle’s season, to determine whether they genuinely could be European-qualification contenders, as is the hierarchy’s publicly stated aim. For now, such talk seems fanciful and unhelpful, even if they remain just five points behind fifth place.
On present form, Newcastle barely warrant the 12th position they currently occupy. Howe’s team have won just two of their last 11 league games, losing five, and have picked up only 10 points during that run. That is bottom-six form, not top-six form.
“Our season has been very disappointing, to be honest,” Bruno Guimaraes, the captain, told NUFCTV. “We have to fix it.”
Frustratingly, as one problem is (partly) addressed, fresh issues arise.
Goals were scarce earlier in the season — they scored only four across six games between September and November, and did not manage a shot on target at Crystal Palace — and yet they have plundered six in their last three.
Admittedly, their attacking shortcomings have not been entirely extinguished. Gilt-edged opportunities were wasted against Brentford, with Alexander Isak and Sandro Tonali culpable in missing clear-cut chances, while Newcastle registered just one shot on target during the second half.
But, offensively, their potency is beginning to return, with Isak and Harvey Barnes taking their goals in west London extremely well, and Liverpool’s imperious backline breached three times in last week’s 3-3 draw.
However, that has come at a cost. Goals are being conceded at an increasingly alarming rate. Eight have been shipped in three games, seven in the last two.
Allowing title-chasing Liverpool to breach your goal three times is one matter, but permitting Brentford to do so on four occasions entirely another. True, Thomas Frank’s side have been free-scoring at home, with 22 in seven games before Saturday, but all four against Newcastle were avoidable — and two were gifts.
“We’ll look back on the goals we conceded with real regret,” Howe said, admitting watching them back will make him “cringe”. “It wasn’t just individual mistakes, it was collective mistakes. You can’t defend like that and expect to win games.”
Bryan Mbeumo was afforded too much space by Lewis Hall to cut inside and shoot for the first. Barnes lazily passed in-field and Yoane Wissa punished him for the second. For the fourth, Tonali gave possession away, Fabian Schar was turned too easily by Mbeumo and Kevin Schade finished.
Brentford’s third was the most embarrassing, however. Goalkeeper Mark Flekken launched a free kick forward, Schar tried to compete with Thiago for a header and lost the flight of the ball, allowing it to bounce and Nathan Collins reacted quickest to finish. For a Premier League side to fail to defend such a basic lofted punt was unforgivable.
“It was just a long free kick, we missed the first contact and then dealt really poorly with the second contact,” Howe said. “That was really, really disappointing.”
The match was also another example of Newcastle having greater possession and failing to win. The game did not follow quite the same pattern as others when Newcastle have dominated the ball, but their 58 per cent second-half share produced only one shot on target and an expected goals (xG) return of just 0.32.
When the onus has been on Newcastle to take the initiative, they have struggled badly.
Newcastle’s five lowest possession shares have been on Tyneside and they have won three of those and drawn two. Their two defeats at St James’ Park, against West Ham and Brighton & Hove Albion, came when Newcastle had more of the ball — and failed to score in either.
Hosting relegation-threatened Leicester City on Saturday is a mental and technical examination, the kind Newcastle have failed to pass this season. A nervous crowd will rightly be expecting a positive performance and result.
Just four days later, what was already Newcastle’s most important match of the season so far has taken on greater significance. Brentford are the opposition again in the Carabao Cup quarter-final and another deep run in that competition has helped dilute some discontent. Progress to the semi-final and the season remains alive. Exit at the last-eight stage and, suddenly, the concerning league form and position will be placed under greater spotlight.
Ipswich Town may be in the bottom three, but on December 21 Kieran McKenna will surely welcome to Portman Road a Newcastle side fragile on their travels. Since the start of last season, Newcastle have lost 14 of their 27 away league games. Only Brentford (18) have lost more often on the road.
But despite the jeopardy of the next three fixtures, they also present an opportunity.
Howe has an almost fully-fit squad to choose from — not that positive selection dilemmas have facilitated positive results recently — and Sven Botman is pencilled in to play for the Under-21s against Chelsea at Whitley Park on Monday, December 16, with the centre-back on course for a first-team return over the festive period.
Three victories inside a week would transform the mood and it could go some way to reshaping perceptions of the season as a whole. But, after apologies from head coach and captain for the defeat at Brentford, actions are required on the field, rather than words off it.
Howe’s Newcastle are at a critical juncture and they simply must start delivering. And quickly.
(Top photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
