One thing Newcastle REALLY need to improve under Eddie Howe

One thing which Newcastle United really need to improve at: not letting games slide when we’re playing poorly.

Bad performances are inevitable, but the best teams adapt in-game when that’s happening. You simplify things, and at the very least, ensure things down escalate rapidly.

Whether it’s going more direct in build-up, dropping off 10 yards, slowing the game down through fouls or time wasting – the best teams sense when they’re not playing well, and adapt to make life tougher for the opposition. We still haven’t learnt how to do that.

Newcastle struggle to adapt mid-game

When we play well, we can beat anyone – but when we’re a bit sloppy, the crowd is getting unsettled – we so rarely find ways of wrestling back control.

It’s happened a few times over the Howe era, most recently against Bournemouth and Fulham. Two games where we were notably sloppy, and at no point did we find ways of adapting our approach to cut that out.

The first five minutes of the second half today should’ve sent alarm bells ringing. We came into that half well off the mark. That’s when you make a concerted effort to change the rhythm of the game.

We didn’t do that – we conceded in that initial period, and then never found our feet again. It’s on both the players and the coach, and it’s on them to adapt and learn – which we should faith in them to do.

We’re a side who are still learning, and these lessons are part and parcel of the process.

One thought on “One thing Newcastle REALLY need to improve under Eddie Howe

  1. What we need is an aggressive, sprinter center back, a left foot winger with class and a attacking middle fielder who can split defense and at the same time control the tempo…and give a chance to miley…miley is better than wilock and longstaff…Murphy is having a good season but we all know his not going to perform on a constant basis..

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