Howe learns much from hotel room

Alistair Magowan, BBC Sport

Eddie Howe has not managed a game from a hotel room before, but Newcastle’s head coach still learned something from a 3-3 draw with Brentford, which was rich in attacking intent if occasionally poor defending.

This has been the story of Newcastle’s season. No Premier League team has conceded more than their 27 goals this term, but they have scored more than double the total of Norwich, who moved above Howe’s now bottom-of-the-table side after beating Southampton on Saturday.

Allan Saint-Maximin showed why he is one of the league's most exciting forwards - and even Joelinton scored, which is a rarity. Jonjo Shelvey justified his manager’s praise before the game by showing how he can be a force in midfield.

But without protection in front of a defence in a 3-4-3 formation, Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo caused plenty of problems for Jamaal Lascelles, Ciaran Clark and Fabian Schar. Martin Dubravka’s return to the starting line-up after injury might also be accelerated after Karl Darlow let Toney’s shot slip through his fingers.

The priority will be to address those areas in the January transfer window. But Howe, once released from Covid-19 self-isolation, and his assistants will need find solutions before then or else see their chances of Premier League survival diminish further.