Sigh. Lifeless and despondent, Newcastle were thrashed soundly by an albeit somewhat resurgent City side in Manchester on Saturday afternoon.
It’s a Premier League away league fixture that United have not conquered in over two decades, yet going into the weekend, it felt like (to this supporter, at least) that something might give. Off the back of that wild, chaotic, beautiful semi-final against Arsenal and a hard-fought victory away in Birmingham, surely this side wouldn’t bend and break so easily at the Etihad.
Four goals and a horrendous performance later, we are forced to ask questions of just how it went so wrong. Tactics? Complacency? One eye on the final? Stale squad? Surely something has to change if Howe’s side are to realise their Champions League dreams at the end of the season. As always, my name is Sam and welcome to the Toon Review.
Beaten at the Etihad (again)
There’s not much positive to say about this one. In fact, it was possibly the most disappointingly negative performance from the Eddie Howe era thus far. A tired and largely uninspired United found themselves down three goals after just 33 minutes, courtesy of an Omar Marmoush hat-trick, and City youngster James McAtee would add a fourth just before the game was up. Newcastle inexplicably decided to approach the game overly negatively and defensively, instead of taking the game to a defence that has had well-documented struggles this campaign. It would come back to bite them, as they created nothing going forward and allowed the home side to dominate the ball and find the net four times.
For all of the immense praise that Howe rightfully and justifiably receives, one shortcoming with the manager could be his unwillingness to adapt tactically. This is what made the decision to change shape against Arsenal such a surprise to many; it is not typical of the boss to change his approach often throughout the season, if at all. If Newcastle had played the way they did against the Gunners in the City game, it could have turned out differently for them. Granted, we have the gift of hindsight on our side, but it’s certainly worth thinking about. City are showing definite signs of progress after their dismal start to the season, but there was no reason for Howe’s side to simply roll over the way they did at the weekend.
United must now navigate what is potentially, on paper, the toughest stretch of their season so far. On Sunday, they will face a high-flying Nottingham Forest side at home, before travelling to Merseyside for a mid-week test at Anfield. All of this is, of course, building up to the Carabao Cup final on 16th March. Every game between now and then is crucial not just in terms of points and league position, but also in terms of momentum. Every kick of the ball just seems that much more important now, and Newcastle can ill afford more dismal showings like the one we saw last weekend.
What Howe Said
“Disappointing game. Disappointing result. Disappointing performance from us.”
“We came here with high expectations of what we can deliver, but it wasn’t there today.”
“We became fatigued. We were chasing the ball for long periods of time.”
“We have winners in the dressing room, and great competitors who pride themselves on being competitive. I don’t think we were today. You want to see the fire and determination to put it right within the group.”
“We have to take all the pain from the defeat and the performance and try and use that in our next performance.”
The Rumour Mill
Newcastle did not intend to let Lloyd Kelly leave the club during January, but found Juventus’ offer of a loan plus £20 million purchase obligation too much to refuse. (The Athletic)
Newcastle, along with Tottenham and Bournemouth, are interested in signing 24-year-old Brazilian winger Igor Paixao from Feyenoord. (Sun)
Alexander Isak has NOT rejected a new deal at Newcastle and the club have no plans to let him go (Luke Edwards)
Newcastle will be offered Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface and Villarreal’s Thierno Barry this summer (The Chronicle)
The Magpies have joined Brentford and Brighton in the hunt to sign Celtic’s 25-year-old German forward Nicolas Kuhn. (Teamtalk)
On This Day
On this day in 2003, United had one of their more memorable European nights, defeating Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 in Germany. This was a tie in the second group stage, a phase that Newcastle reached by finishing second in an initial group that featured Juventus, Dynamo Kyiv and Feyenoord. In the second phase, however, the Magpies fared slightly worse, finishing third in a group topped by Barcelona and Inter. They did finish above Leverkusen, their opponents on this night, who finished with a measly 0 points.
Newcastle’s goals in Germany included a brace from cult striker Shola Ameobi, and a strike from Lomana LuaLua. Ameobi had put United two goals to the good within 15 minutes. França pulled one back for the hosts before LuaLua extended the lead back to two in the 32nd minute. There were no more goals after that.
A Look Ahead to Sunday
Nottingham Forest (H)
On Sunday afternoon on Sky Sports, United will return home to face a Forest side who are certainly not short on confidence this season, but who were beaten last weekend by an equally surprising Fulham. This really is a six-pointer in the top-four race; win and we’ll be three points behind Nuno’s Reds, but lose and the gap would be nine.
The key man to nullify will be Chris Wood, who has scored 18 Premier League goals this season. The former Magpie scored a hat-trick against his former side a couple of boxing days ago, and has been one of the best finishers in Europe this season.
Back at home in front of their own fans, Newcastle will be looking to put things right straight away. It won’t be easy, but it never is in the Premier League. HWTL.
Toon Trivia
Time for some trivia! Well done to those of you who got last week’s question correct. The scorers in Newcastle’s 3-3 draw with Manchester City in August 2022 were Miguel Almiron, Callum Wilson and Kieran Trippier.
Nottingham Forest enjoyed their Golden Era in the 1980s. Who did they famously defeat in the 1979 European Cup final?
That’s all for now. See you all next week for another edition of the Toon Review!
