Jacob Murphy failure in leadership spotted by fans on Sunday - A cause for concern?

Newcastle United capitulated in the south London breeze on Sunday as Crystal Palace became the latest team to overturn a Magpies lead to take the three points.

It took a collective effort to be so poor, from the manager to the players; the blame is shared equally across the board. It might just be the post-defeat bitterness still ringing in our ears, but we honestly can't think of a redeeming thing from the game.

We could point to Lewis Miley being back and getting an assist, but then we think about his entire game, and he, like everyone else, was sloppy in possession, so he cancels himself out.

It's equally as hard to pick out one disappointment to rule over the others: The fact that Eddie Howe sent out Joelinton knowing that a yellow card would land him a two-game suspension, but no booking would see that jeopardy drop off when the threshold increases to 15 cards. Sven Botman trying to swap shirts before the full-time whistle. Or Jacob Murphy's lack of leadership as captain.

Where was the captain?

It's that last one that fans were quick to highlight on social media on Sunday.

After the penalty was awarded, Sven Botman and Malick Thiaw surrounded the referee to protest Botman's innocence, with the German centre back visibly looking around for his captain.

Clips showed Thiaw shouting at Murphy to get across and speak to the referee, which is his duty as captain; no other players are supposed to talk to the referee and risk a booking for doing so. Eventually, Murphy sauntered over and spoke to referee Andy Madeley, but there was no urgency, no passion, and it made fans wonder if that had been his attitude as leader all game.

Look at Thiaw telling Murphy (Eddie’s glorious leader for the day) to come over and talk the referee instead of shying away. Embarrassing. pic.twitter.com/Zl58ehnvmU

— ToonGambit (@ToonGambit) April 12, 2026

That captain's pride didn't last long

Murphy was buzzing recently when he was handed the captain's armband, but it seems like that pride has quickly faded.

The sooner Bruno Guimaraes is back fit, the better. He is still a doubt for Saturday's game against Bournemouth, but a less-than-fit Bruno is surely better than what we've got right now. At least he cares.

Eddie Howe is going to have to change the midfield on Saturday anyway, thanks to Joelinton's inevitable booking on Sunday. Jacob Ramsey is the obvious choice to slot into Joelinton's spot - which begs the question, why not just play Ramsey on Sunday and avoid this whole debacle?

I didn't realise I was still so angry about a game that took place two days ago, but here we are.