Howe names the one “big positive” from Newcastle’s 4-0 defeat at Man City

Eddie Howe has singled out the one and only positive from Newcastle United’s hammering at Manchester City on Saturday afternoon.

The Toon boss watched on as his side meandered to a 4-0 defeat that was described as “lazy” by his club captain Bruno Guimaraes and brought a halt to the optimism accrued after back-to-back wins in both cup competitions.

Howe was able to identify an aspect that encouraged him during the disappointing overall performance, and it bodes well for Newcastle with a crucial few fixtures still to come this month.

Howe picks out the one Mag who performed

Eddie Howe singled Lewis Miley out for praise after the 18-year-old produced a battling performance as Newcastle struggled on against the Premier League champions.

"The big positive is Lewis’ performance in the second half,” said Howe. “He showed, not just bravery out of possession, in terms of winning duels and covering the pitch, but also in terms of taking the ball, showing composure and making the right decisions, which we didn’t do enough of.

"He can be very proud of his performance, but some of us need to look at him because he led the way."

The injury to Joelinton has forced Howe to navigate away from his preferred midfield three, with Geordie boys Miley and Sean Longstaff given the start against Birmingham City - before Joe Willock was preferred against Man City.

Miley was subbed on for Willock during the interval with Toon already 3-0 down before half-time to an Omar Marmoush hat-trick, and the local lad may well be the preferred pick going forward with the former-Arsenal man he came on for hardly setting the world alight recently.

Maturity beyond his years

With a tough start to 2025, we need to bounce back quickly with vital fixtures against Nottingham Forest and Liverpool fast approaching. More players need to step up and showcase the resilience that Miley exhibited during the City match. 

There can be some solace from the maturity shown by Miley in an otherwise disappointing result, but we need our more experienced players to regain the form that led us on a nine-game winning run through the turn of the year.