I remember it well after that 3-1 defeat to Brighton, which came just before the last international break. TalkSPORT debated if Eddie Howe was under pressure following three-straight defeats and BBC Radio 5Live put forward a similar narrative.
‘Is his position at Newcastle under threat?’ was one tagline they went with, along with ‘How long for Howe?’ as they had Luke Edwards on to explain why he’ll be given plenty of time. What Luke said was true and there was no panic from our end, but the very fact certain sections of the national media were discussing his position and credentials for the job felt genuinely ridiculous given A) our tough start to the season and B) everything he’d achieved over his first 18 months at the club.
The nature of the Brighton defeat was concerning and losing to Liverpool’s 10 men in the way we did was a worry, but I backed us to bounce back like so many other Mags. Under Howe, it feels like we always do. This is a great group of lads and a team with so much character, quality and togetherness.
After the last international break, our league fixtures got kinder after an extremely tough start but our schedule was jam packed, with Champions League games with AC Milan and PSG and a cup clash with Man City wedged in between league games against Brentford, Sheffield United, Burnley and West Ham.
A new experience and a real challenge given the injuries within the squad, but we have come through it incredibly. An ugly but vital win 1-0 over Brentford – which came with a much-needed clean sheet – was followed by a gutsy point at the San Siro. Then came that historic 8-0 win over Sheffield United, showing signs we’d got our swagger back. We rotated heavily against Man City but Howe pulled off his first ever win over Guardiola to progress in the Carabao Cup, then we responded to another big midweek result with a routine win over Burnley, where that 2-0 win secured our fifth straight clean sheet.
PSG was a magical night and arguably our best performance yet under the new regime. It was a magical night for so many inside St James’ Park and more proof of Eddie’s amazing work with our pre-takeover players, where Schar, Burn, Longstaff and Almiron all stole the show against the Ligue 1 giants, sending us top of Group F.
A slight hangover from that felt inevitable given fatigue, injuries (Botman, Joelinton, Wilson, Willock and Barnes) and suspensions (Gordon) going into the West Ham game, but we were the width of the post and an 89th minute equaliser away from beating the Hammers; who were at full strength and have been brilliant so far this season.
A DraftKings promo code would’ve given you poor odds for an unbeaten run after that 3-1 defeat to Brighton, yet we’ve done exactly that in the seven games since, winning five, drawing two, scoring 18 and conceding just three times. Given the hectic schedule, injuries, pressure to respond and quality of opposition faced, that is outstanding.
The vast majority of Newcastle fans kept the faith and backed us to respond. We’ve done exactly that and in some style!
And where are those media people now writing the same turd about another club probably don’t listen or read it
We know our club better than any of those so just skip pass to the next article
Marc Howe(Quote)