Newcastle United

The Monday Night Club panel discussed PSR and the impact it is having on clubs like Newcastle.

"It must be so frustrating for Newcastle fans with these PSR rules," said former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson.

"They're the richest club in the world and the story every transfer window is: 'Oh, they have to sell Alexander Isak or Bruno Guimaraes.'

"They should be allowed to spend what other clubs have spent over the years. How are they going to close that gap quickly? They're not - they're going to have to balance the books.

"The squad that Eddie Howe wants is probably three or four windows away, but they have the money to do that now."

The Athletic journalist Rory Smith responded: "I'd go the other way on the financial rules. I get it's frustrating for Newcastle, but I'm not convinced football should be decided by which team can attract the biggest country to back it.

"There is also the benefit that, if you're Arsenal, you probably can't sign Isak any more as it would put you at risk of breaking the rules.

"That makes Isak more likely to stay at Newcastle and there is a bigger spread of talent throughout the league."

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Charlotte Robson
Fan writer

I wrote last week that I was getting whiplash from these results and performances. People have been saying inconsistency is Newcastle United's identity this season, and we managed to typify that literally within the game this weekend. What a feat!

We started against top four side Nottingham Forest reasonably well, aside from a mistake causing us to concede within six minutes. If you ignore that bit, it was fine.

Then came a wild 12 minutes in which we scored four goals. By the fourth goal, the crowd was laughing, enjoying a complete performance in which we totally dominated a team that we were worried about facing.

By 90 minutes, I was not laughing. I looked around at the faces in the stand. We had all visibly aged. It is a draining thing as a fan to feel so heartened and comfortable at one moment then anxious and desperate the next.

One thing that stuck out to me was the nervousness. After half-time, Newcastle were not really playing like a team 4-1 up. We looked worried.

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Did whatever Nuno Espirito Santo said (and did, switching Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga) to his team just work?

Newcastle played like they were barely clinging on to a lead, misplacing passes and panicking on the ball. Substitutions were made a little late and could not calm the pace of the game and it was scrappy.

I am not angry about it, as people on social media seem to be (permanently, about everything). I am just confused and unsettled.

We are about to play Liverpool, who are 20 points ahead of us and having an incredible season.

At half-time on Sunday at St James' Park, I was thinking that it might be a good game at Anfield. By full-time, I was thinking Liverpool must be buzzing to be up against us next.

Find more from Charlotte Robson at the True Faith: Newcastle United Podcast, external

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Premier League game against Liverpool at Anfield (20:15 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Sandro Tonali "came through fine" in his substitute appearance against Nottingham Forest and Howe "anticipates he will now be fully fit" for the trip to the league leaders.

• Sven Botman is "improving quickly" and will be "very close" for the Wednesday's game, while Joelinton "is another player who could be quite close".

• More on Joelinton: "It's similar to Sven. He is really improving, doing really well and pushing. He has those key aspects we have missed when he's not there. His physicality and strength there is an obvious presence missing in our midfield. Joey is a massive player for us."

• On the "emotional" challenge of playing at Anfield: "We need to be close to a perfect game from our perspective. Psychologically, it's huge. It's an emotional stadium - we're going to need to start well, and we need to have a threat in the game."

• More on facing the league leaders and dealing with Mohamed Salah down Newcastle's left: "It's always not down to any one individual in the team. It's about the team supporting that area of the pitch."

• Howe recalled Nick Pope ahead of Martin Dubravka in goal after his return from injury: "I had a conversation with Martin. It's always difficult because every player wants to play and I have many difficult conversations with many players on a regular basis. That's part of my job. But Martin's a top professional and he will respond in the right way."

• On Alexander Isak, who has reached 50 Premier League goals faster than Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero and Thierry Henry: "It highlights how well he's done it when you look at the names. He's come in with a great attitude to the club. He's come in hungry to succeed and eager to help the team. He's not been selfish in that period, he's not thought of himself, he's always played for the team and I'm delighted for him."

Follow all of Tuesday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Listen to more from Howe on BBC Sounds

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

Image source, Getty Images

I popped down the road to Newcastle at the weekend for the visit of Nottingham Forest, expecting the unexpected. Forest recently won 7-0 against Brighton and lost 5-0 to Bournemouth in successive games. Newcastle have similar Jekyll and Hyde tendencies. Neither let the recent narrative down in a breathless seven-goal thriller. Newcastle were exceptional in the first half and the visitors abject. They changed ends at the break and suddenly Newcastle were abject and Forest very good.

Not only is it impossible to predict their games, it is impossible to guess from one half to the next. This is why the race for the European places is such a joy this season. The gap between third and 11th is only seven points and any one of those nine clubs is well capable of finishing in the top five.

Newcastle fans are conflicted about what they would prefer between Champions League football or winning the EFL Cup against Liverpool in a couple of weeks. I guess most local fans would choose the glory of their first major domestic trophy since the 1950s, whereas the hierarchy and maybe even the manager might go for the financial grail of the Champions League.

In the longer term, things look good. Their youngsters Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall have the full-back positions sorted for a generation, but the real upcoming star will probably be Lewis Miley. Last season, when he was only 17, I said he could be an England international in the making.

Since then, he has had injuries and this was his first league start for a year. He still scored the Toon's opener, played with the assurance of a seasoned campaigner and looked to me as good as anyone in the midfield already. This kid is going to be a true star.

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Sweden striker Alexander Isak may be allowed to leave Newcastle if they do not qualify for next season's Champions League, with Liverpool and Arsenal interested in the 25-year-old. (Mirror, external)

Newcastle are considering a summer move for Atalanta's Nigeria striker Ademola Lookman, 27, and could face competition from Manchester United. (Teamtalk, external)

Lookman will leave Atalanta after falling out with manager Gian Piero Gasperini. (Sky Sports Switzerland - in French, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Newcastle may have fallen over the line in seeing off Nottingham Forest but their endeavour during the win was noteworthy.

The Magpies clocked 109.6km of running as a team compared to 103.47km for Forest.

Furthermore, the Magpies produced 173 sprints, with Forest on 35 fewer.

Are Nuno Espirito Santo's side running out of steam given their superb season so far? Or are Eddie Howe's side finding that extra bit of hustle at the business end of the campaign?

Bruno Guimaraes (11.7km) and Lewis Miley (11.2km) broke the 11km barrier, with no Forest player doing so.

Left-back Lewis Hall was the busiest player on the day with a game-high 96 touches. He completed 89% of his passes, including an impressive 92% of passes he attempted in the final third.

No player had more duels than Hall's 17 and the former Chelsea player won 11 of them. Hall created three chances on the day, with only Forest's Chris Wood reaching the same figure.

You've heard the cliche - now we can show it.

The above graphic, newly available via the Match Stats tab on every Premier League match report, demonstrates starkly how the pendulum swung in Sunday's ding-dong game between Newcastle and Nottingham Forest.

Essentially, the visual represents every minute of the game and shows the likelihood each team had of scoring in that moment of the match.

The more likely a goal for a team, the bigger the bar.

So in the first half, the glut of yellow bars represents just how dominant Newcastle were, obviously having four goals to show for it.

However, after the break, back came Forest, and the swathe of white demonstrates their pressure on the Newcastle goal and just how close they came to getting back on terms.

To get into the weeds of how it works, check out our full explainer here and make sure to keep an eye out on every game your team plays in the Premier League from now on.

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Image source, PA Media

Eddie Howe hopes to find a solution to the "inconsistent" spells between and during games which have been a feature of Newcastle's season.

The Magpies responded to a heavy defeat at Manchester City by beating Nottingham Forest 4-3 at home on Sunday.

Newcastle scored four goals in a blistering first-half period, but Forest fought back from 4-1 behind at the break and almost earned a point.

"The challenge we need to pose each other as a group is to find solutions in those moments to help the players," Howe said. "That's what I'll go away now and try to figure out.

"This has happened too many times this season, where we've been inconsistent game to game, but we've been inconsistent in-game as well.

"Ultimately we've won the game so I have to be very pleased. That was a tough game - we knew it was going to be - but the players were magnificent in their response to conceding, so loads of good stuff to take away and of course some stuff to improve.

"We need to know when we go to Liverpool [on Wednesday] what we're going to get. Our learning and future growth is going to be, even within games, finding that way of playing that we don't deviate from."

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Newcastle and Nottingham Forest.

Here are some of your comments:

Newcastle fans

Anth: Elation, frustration, stress and then panic left me in an emotional puddle! From Mount Everest to the ocean floor! A game of two halves just doesn't do that justice. I'm grateful for the three points and loved the first half, but I had to borrow fingernails at the end as the second half screeched towards its inevitable, excruciating conclusion. Liverpool looming fills me with not a little trepidation!

Tony: Eddie Howe says we are at our best when we play free-flowing, attacking football. That's what we did in the first half and blew Forest away - we were unplayable. Second half was abysmal and we let Forest get a foothold, get back into the game and get hope. This side is either brilliant or awful, with no in between.

Davy: Three valuable points and back to winning ways. However, lots still to be concerned about. Sloppy passing throughout and constantly losing possession. Made what should have been an easy victory into a difficult one. Three points though and a magnificent performance from Lewis Hall.

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Mark: The defensive implosion, not just in this game but in recent games in general, has been very worrying. That's seven conceded in our past two in the league, or 14 in the past five. That's not going to get us Champions League football, no matter what Alexander Isak does at the other end. No game has better summed up just how devastating we can be - both to ourselves and opponents.

Kian: Sums up our season! Great attacking football first half then enter the second half, sit back and drip feed goals back to the opposition. It seems both sets of fans looked despondent after the game. That says it all - but great for the neutral! It's been a lifetime, literally, since we won a cup so let's see how many goals we can hold back against Liverpool at Anfield next.

Jill: Why on earth does the team act like a pricked balloon when they have a good lead? It seems as if they imagine they can cruise to victory, when with effort they can keep on the front foot. They are not good enough yet to be able to control a whole game against teams they imagine are weaker than themselves. Or is it complacency, which would be horrible to see?

Image source, Getty Images

Former Premier League striker Troy Deeney has praised the "maturity" of Newcastle United academy graduate Lewis Miley, after the 18-year-old scored in Newcastle's 4-3 win over Nottingham Forest.

Speaking on Match of the Day 2, Deeney said Miley gives Eddie Howe another "great option" in central midfield.

"Take away from that baby face, this is a mature man playing in midfield," he added. "To drop Sandro Tonali and put Lewis Miley in there shows the confidence Eddie Howe has in him.

"When you watch him, he plays it and he doesn't just stand there and watch, he gets after the ball again and keeps himself as an option.

"He is always in space. He has always got time because he plays it and goes forward again.

"He isn't happy just watching his work, you can see his tenacity. How many times does he win headers? It's like he says: 'No problem, let's keep the ball alive.'

"These are all the scrappy things you don't get in under-23s football, such as doing your job at the back post where most young players would switch off.

"He is from the Toon and you can tell he wants this so bad. This isn't somebody who plays under-23s football, this is someone who is a mature young man."

Catch up on Match of the Day 2 here

Highlights and analysis from Sunday's two Premier League fixtures, plus the best of the action from the rest of the weekend.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

And you can watch Saturday's Match of the Day here.

Listen back to the weekend's full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Arsenal 0-1 West Ham

• Aston Villa 2-1 Chelsea

• Newcastle 4-3 Nottingham Forest

• Man City 0-2 Liverpool

Alex Brotherton
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Newcastle looked to be heading for a landslide victory after four goals in 11 first-half minutes put them 4-1 up against Nottingham Forest, but a slack second half performance almost cost them dear.

The home side reacted brilliantly to Callum Hudson-Odoi's opener, with Lewis Miley, Jacob Murphy and Alexander Isak all getting on the scoresheet.

On his 76th Premier League appearance Isak scored his 50th goal in the league; only six players have reached that milestone quicker.

The second half was a different story, with the hosts looking shaky at set-pieces and unable to control the game.

Nikola Milenkovic and Ryan Yates pulled goals back for Forest but Newcastle hung on to win 4-3.

"I don't know whether it was because we were protecting the lead and that subconsciously affects our performance," Magpies boss Eddie Howe told BBC Match of the Day after the game.

"I have to remind myself that we won the game and ultimately that's the most important thing."

There's plenty for Newcastle to work on, but with 12 games left to play they are fifth in the table.

Image source, Getty Images

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live: "I am trying to control my thoughts and stay positive. We have won the game and that is what we needed to do.

"I thought it was a great performance in the first half and we were everything we weren't at Manchester City. We didn't manage the game well but overall we are happy with the win.

"It was always a difficult game and when they took the early lead you know you have an big task. I thought we were great with the ball and looked dynamic but then a couple of frailties showed in terms of defending set plays.

"When you win and you have things to improve, that is a good start point. That's what I'll take away from today.

"We can reflect on that 45 minutes and there are things that we can do better. We pride ourselves on doing better and getting the details right."

On Alexander Isak reaching 50 Premier League goals: "It is huge and when he plays like he did in the first half he is massive for us. He showed his pace and the timing of the run was excellent. Big player."

Image source, Getty Images

Newcastle United have won 13 of their last 16 games in all competitions (L3). Since the first match of this run on December 14th, it is the most wins by any Premier League side.

Alexander Isak scored his 49th and 50th Premier League goals, making him the highest scoring Swedish player in the competition's history, overtaking Freddie Ljungberg (48).

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Newcastle's performance

What did you make of Forest's display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Two matches make up Sunday's Premier League action and we will bring you every kick.

• Newcastle v Nottingham Forest (14:00) - follow the action here

• Man City v Liverpool (16:30) - follow the action here

All kick-off times GMT

Full commentary of both games on BBC Radio 5 Live

As the BBC's predictions expert I always try to go with my head and not my heart.

That's what I am doing with this game, which is big for both teams in the battle for the top four.

I'd love to say my boyhood club, Nottingham Forest, will respond to their defeat at Fulham but this game is actually quite simple for me to predict because I am expecting Newcastle to bounce back from their woeful performance and result against Manchester City last weekend.

I just think there will be a big reaction from Alexander Isak, who was kept really quiet by City, and a real response from their whole team.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here