'Newcastle require Premier League reboot amid curious season'

Only Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool have picked up more points than Newcastle United since Eddie Howe took charge in November, 2021

Storm clouds were gathering.

The conditions mirrored Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe's dark mood on the team bus as he watched his side's defeat against Brentford back on the long journey home last December.

A bruising loss at the Gtech Community Stadium left Newcastle languishing in the bottom half of the table, and led to Howe delivering some "harsh words" to his players.

It proved the basis for a reset that saw Newcastle embark on a nine-game winning run.

Nearly a year on, following another damaging defeat at Brentford, Newcastle look in need of a reboot once more.

They now sit just two points above the relegation zone before the visit of in-form Manchester City to St James' Park on Saturday.

"We have been quite up front," Howe said. "That's my way of working. I don't believe that you can be anything else. You've got to be honest.

"But you have got to think these players are playing so quickly that we can't dwell that long.

"As much as you want to live in that place and spark a response, you've got to be quite short, sharp and direct and, right, it's on to the future. The future can be very positive. It depends what picture you want to paint."

Mentality and goal issues

Rather than seeking assurances from those above him, Howe has instead hunkered down during the international break.

He has watched games back, reviewed training and attempted to find answers to what has been a curious campaign to date.

It is easy to forget that Newcastle have won six of their past nine matches in all competitions. Howe's side sit in sixth place in the Champions League standings. The Carabao Cup holders have a home quarter-final to look forward to against Fulham next month. They remain only six points off fifth place.

But Newcastle have also recorded just three league victories this season and defender Dan Burn has hinted at the "mentality challenge" his side have struggled with while fighting on multiple fronts.

"I feel like Manchester City are the best at doing this," he said earlier this month. "Whatever competition they go into, however many days' rest they have had, they always have certain standards they are expecting and always turn up."

Newcastle have not turned up enough this season.

Howe's team have failed to win a league game on their travels since April, and there are clear issues at both ends of the pitch.

With fellow summer signing Yoane Wissa still sidelined, record arrival Nick Woltemade has had to quickly shoulder the goalscoring burden, netting 44% of Newcastle's league goals since making his debut in September.

Woltemade has had little to feed off of late - coming deep to try and get involved - and the team are not clicking in the final third.

As much as those around Woltemade have been adjusting to a very different profile of striker, and he to them, it is clear others need to step up more regularly.

Forwards Harvey Barnes, Jacob Murphy, Anthony Gordon and Anthony Elanga have scored just three league goals between them this season while captain Bruno Guimaraes is the only midfielder to have found the back of the net on at least one occasion in the top flight.

No wonder, then, Newcastle are the fourth-lowest goal scorers (11) in the division, with the fourth-worst shot conversion rate (8.4%) and big chance conversion rate (30%) to boot.

"It's about showing that we have the experience"

The defensive picture looks healthier at first glance.

Only Arsenal have kept more clean sheets than Newcastle (five) while the league leaders, Manchester City, Chelsea and Leeds United are the only sides to have faced fewer shots (117).

But that does not necessarily tell the full story.

Newcastle have conceded eight goals in just three away matches against Brentford, West Ham and Brighton in recent weeks.

In the three prior away games in the top flight, Newcastle did not ship a single goal, but they are starting to invite more shots.

Brentford and West Ham had 15 apiece while Brighton took 13, and it is far from a coincidence that each of these sides won more duels against a team and a heavyweight midfield that once prided itself on its physicality, intensity and ability to cover ground effectively.

Newcastle have instead looked brittle of late, even when ahead, and they have thrown away more points (nine) from winning positions this season than any other side.

This is a squad, for context, which was reinforced with a £100m-plus net spend last summer.

But there was a fear, internally, that it could be a testing start, that the knock-on effect of a turbulent window could seep into the season.

Four of the five signings Newcastle made were in the final two-and-a-half weeks of the window, with little training time to fully embed them into the system given the relentless nature of the schedule, while Alexander Isak only completed his £125m move to Liverpool on deadline day after going on strike several weeks earlier.

Just as a number of new arrivals are still settling in, Newcastle have clearly missed the energy and creativity of Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento at full-back – the pair have been sidelined through injury of late - and the pace and instincts of Wissa through the middle.

But whether it is a tweak in system, style or personnel, Howe needs to find answers in the Premier League.

"It's about showing that we have the experience and the expertise to guide us forward," he said. "I need to show that."