In recent weeks we asked you for a topic that nobody is talking about at Newcastle but should be. A few of you were in touch and raised concerns with the poor defending on show at the moment.
So we put the defensive issues to Matty Renton from The Magpie Channel, to see what he thought.
Charlotte Robson
Fan writer
Image source, Getty ImagesNewcastle travelled to Fulham this weekend to take their first loss of the season.
Remember last week when I asked you to give me a bit of leeway to gloat? This is why. Newcastle fans have seen this scoreline coming for a few games now - but bad performances have been masked by good results. The weekend’s game has meant that some fans are asking (albeit, quietly) is it time to ask questions of Eddie Howe?
Howe has an enormous amount of goodwill with our fanbase. He was the first new manager under our new ownership, the manager that took us from nailed on relegation to 11th, then the Champions League. He seems to ‘get’ the region and the fans. Last season we did not have the results we wanted but we put it down to injuries, squad depth, bad luck.
We have had the best start to the season since the mid-nineties, and yet there was a feeling of inevitability around Saturday’s game. It’s hard to point the finger at Eddie Howe for the reasons listed. So then does the buck stop with the players, some of whom are looking disengaged? Does it tie into the alleged tensions between head coach and board? Is it as simple as this team has gone as far as it can in its current iteration? I find that idea hard to believe.
I also find it hard to believe that Howe, a man who by many accounts is obsessed with his work and making improvements, is not the person to take us forward. The problem is we have seen that performance before under Howe and opposition teams are working us out. Ultimately that blame does lie at his feet.
Our good start has provided a cushion, but he will have to find some answers soon.
Find more from Charlotte Robson at the True Faith: Newcastle United Podcast, external
Liverpool and England defender Joe Gomez, 27, is wanted by Aston Villa and Newcastle. (Football Insider), external
Newcastle, Manchester United and Tottenham are among the clubs interested in Lille and England midfielder Angel Gomes, 24. (GiveMeSport), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column
Image source, Getty ImagesNewcastle have confirmed that their postponed Carabao Cup third round match with AFC Wimbledon will now take place at St. James' Park on Tuesday, 1 October [7:45pm BST].
The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday, 24 September at the Cherry Red Records Stadium but was postponed on Monday morning because of flooding at the League Two club's stadium.
The venue has been switched following an agreement between the two clubs and the Carabao Cup management committee.
Image source, PA MediaNewcastle United's Carabao Cup tie against League Two side AFC Wimbledon, which was scheduled for Tuesday, has been postponed because of "extensive overnight flooding at the Cherry Red Records Stadium".
A new date for the fixture is yet to be confirmed.
The Magpies were beaten finalists in the competition in 2022-23 and reached the quarter-final stage last season.
Image source, Getty ImagesWe asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Fulham and Newcastle United.
Here are some of your comments:
Fulham fans
Iain: Fully justified result. We were by far the better and more creative side. This should have been the score last week as well. There's a lot to be impressed by and, if continued, a push for a European place might be on the cards perhaps.
Lucas: A really good and promising performance. After the disappointment of the Carabao Cup exit, I thought the players really bounced back. It was a very good goal from Raul Jimenez and I thought they showed great composure to kill the game in the final minutes. A very deserved three points on the board!
Toppy: Beautiful! We discarded the trend of meaningless possession and we made our opportunities count. The new signings were great. Onwards and upwards!
Bob: Great result, but we must make sure we keep focused when coming out for a game. We were 2-0 up going in at half-time and we had done a lot of the hard work in the first half, but a minute into the second half, we got caught. We must be aware that things can change in a second. There were lots of chances which we must try to start putting away in games as these could cost us. Well done.
Newcastle fans
Richard: A result that everyone knew was coming. No European distractions, a chance to go top, and yet we were two goals down in 20 minutes against a mid-table side that is hardly full of potency. Improvement on last season is hard to see right now and the fixtures only get harder from here. A testing few weeks are coming up.
Kegs: Finally we got what we deserved this season - nothing. Including the Carabao Cup, that is now six poor performances in six games. Eddie can't work out who his starting three central midfielders should be and every combination he has tried so far this season has failed. There is no cohesion or creativity in midfield. Has the captaincy gone to Bruno's head? He has been awful.
Paul: Something's not right with Anthony Gordon. He has been poor this season, by his high standards, and his body language against Fulham suggested someone who didn't want to be there. He might be upset by the attempt to offload him, understandably, but he cannot sulk on the pitch. He should have been hooked at half-time.
Tom: Christmas came early for Fulham with Nick Pope, Fabian Schar and Bruno Guimaraes the three unwise men. The only player who can come out of that shambles of a first half with any credit is Harvey Barnes. A slightly improved second half but ridiculous individual errors have cost us that game. It wasn't helped by the questionable team selection - Sandro Tonali must be a starter.
Scouts from Newcastle, Manchester United and Tottenham watched English midfielder Tyler Dibling, 18, as he scored for Southampton on Saturday. (HITC), external
England striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin is not close to signing a new contract beyond next summer at Everton, with the Magpies monitoring the 27-year-old's situation. (CaughtOffisde), external
Finally, Newcastle are the latest Premier League club to enter the race to sign Italy Under-21s forward Luca Koleosho, 20, who has impressed at Burnley. (HITC), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column
Gary Lineker presents highlights and analysis from Saturday's eight Premier League fixtures.
If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.
Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:
Jonathan Jurejko
BBC Sport
Image source, Getty ImagesDoes the table really matter at this stage of the season? Not really.
But seeing their team leading the way - at least temporarily with Manchester City and Arsenal playing on Sunday - would have been a fine sight for Newcastle fans.
However, a disjointed display - particularly in a poor first half - illustrated where Eddie Howe's side really are.
Even though they had not lost in their opening four league games, there remained a strong sense that the Magpies were still far from their best level.
Those views were substantiated in a first-half performance where Newcastle lacked solidity in their defensive shape and assurance on the ball to stem the tide.
While they improved after the break, the damage was already done.
Howe must solve a number of issues - avoiding sluggish starts, getting the right blend in his midfield, and who he plays at left-back - as soon as possible.
Image source, Getty ImagesFulham have gained their first win against Newcastle in the Premier League since March 2014, having failed to defeat the Magpies in any of their last eight in the competition (D2 L6).
The Cottagers are unbeaten in their last four Premier League games (W2 D2), their longest run without defeat since February 2023 (also four games). They have never been on a longer run under manager Marco Silva in the competition.
Image source, Getty ImagesNewcastle manager Eddie Howe on whether his side lost the game in the first half: "I think we did, it was a slow start and the first goal was a killer blow for us. It was a poor goal for us to concede, we need to do much better.
"The first half was difficult, we looked stretched in our defending. Second half we were much better, we scored a great goal and thought we could turn the game around.
"We had our chances and ultimately the third goal killed the game."
On centre-back Fabian Schar's chance to equalise: "We won the ball back high, Fabian had the chance to score and unfortunately he didn't take it.
"Games swing on big moments. The character and attitude was better in that second period but we have to learn our lessons from the first half.
"We have to start the game better and be more front footed and more dominant in our performance."
Image source, Getty ImagesNewcastle winger Harvey Barnes on how a poor first-half performance proved costly at Craven Cottage: "It wasn't clicking for us. On the ball we weren't good enough and off the ball, you can see with their goals, we weren't at our level.
"It was disappointing to go in at half time and we needed a reaction. We got one - to a degree, anyway, because we didn't get the result - but there were more promising signs in the second half.
"The basics weren't there for us. Off the ball we were not as solid as we normally are and not as aggressive as we usually are on the ball. Our levels weren't there."
Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?
Have your say on Fulham’s performance, external
What did you make of Newcastle’s display?, external
Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies
Eight matches make up Saturday's Premier League action, and we will bring you every moment.
All kick-off times BST
Follow all of the action and reaction here
BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries:
Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.
For week five, he takes on singer-songwriter and West Ham fan James Smith whose debut album Common People is out now.
On Saturday, Fulham welcome Newcastle to Craven Cottage (15:00 BST).
Sutton's prediction: 1-1
Fulham won nine and lost eight of their 19 home Premier League games last season, but I always fancied them to win at Craven Cottage.
They should have beaten West Ham there last weekend, when they had chances to go further ahead before Danny Ings' 95th-minute equaliser for the Hammers.
Newcastle are still a bit of an unknown quantity for me because I can't say I've been particularly impressed by them so far.
Eventually, Eddie Howe's side are going to come a cropper, but at the moment they are finding a way to win games, even if they are relying on moments of brilliance by individual players rather than playing well as a team.
Smith's prediction: 2-2
I am going for a draw here, with a few goals.
Joe Nelson
BBC Sport journalist
Image source, Getty ImagesIf you looked at the Premier League table and see Newcastle United sitting in third, unbeaten in their past four matches, you could be forgiven for assuming the Magpies have been at their free-flowing best at the start of 2024-25.
That hasn't quite been the case, but the resilience that was present in the 2022-23 season, when Eddie Howe's side finished fourth in the table, has returned.
The goals are yet to start flowing but Newcastle are simply finding ways to win. That could be worth its weight in gold come the end of the season, but fans will be keen for things to start clicking sooner rather than later.
Craven Cottage is the destination for Howe's men on Saturday, for a 15:00 BST kick-off against a Fulham side who, like themselves, haven't blown teams away but fight for every ball.
The start of the win at Wolves last weekend was more like the Newcastle that fans have come to know and love and, after Fabian Schar's equaliser rejuvenated the Magpies, it was more of the same.
That part in the middle, though, was less than ideal.
Howe has called for consistency and Saturday could be the match when everything flows for Newcastle from minute one to minute 90.
Sandro Tonali's return greatly helped that performance, as did the introduction of similarly energetic midfielder Joe Willock, and both could stake a claim for a start in the capital.
Harvey Barnes was the scorer of the wonderful winner and equally could be in the line-up at Craven Cottage.
Newcastle have threatened to put in devastating performances like the high-scoring matches of last season in the first four of this campaign, but will Saturday be the day that happens?
What is for sure, though, is 10 points on the board from four matches and the opportunity to go top of the table on Saturday (before Manchester City and Arsenal play on Sunday) is beyond the expectations even the most optimistic Geordies will have had at the start of the campaign.
Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game away to Fulham (15:00 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Howe will "make a decision today" on whether Alexander Isak is fit to face Fulham after suffering an eye injury and knock to his foot in last weekend's win at Wolves.
Fellow striker Callum Wilson is not fit for the trip to London however, with Howe "hoping to have him back" in full training during the international break. Lewis Miley is "back on the grass" but still "a long way off" a return.
Even if Isak is not available, Howe is happy with his options: "That leaves Anthony [Gordon], who did a really good job against Wolves, and Will Osula, who has done really well since he's been with us. I know he hasn't played any minutes yet but we've been delighted with his progress. He's got all the tools so we feel we've got good cover."
On the fine recent form of Harvey Barnes: "Starting regularly is up to him. There is no guarantee. Harvey has a real coolness in front of goal. He has this way he strikes the ball and his positioning is very good. I am delighted with how he has started the season."
On the chance to go top of the Premier League with a win: "I only found that out this morning. It would be nice [and] it's a great motivation for us. It means nothing because it's so early [in the season] but it's where we want to be."
Howe said Sandro Tonali is in "a much better place": "The international games really helped him. He’s certainly pushing to start but I want everyone pushing to start. He was very good against Wolves."
How close are the Magpies to "clicking"?: "Hopefully very close. There are a lot of games when you're not in 'fifth gear' or whatever bracket you put it in, but you can still win games in third and fourth, and that's what we didn't do well enough last year."
Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news
Image source, Getty ImagesThe issue around the footballing calendar and the demands being placed on players right now is a difficult one.
First, we need to take into consideration the really high demands on the body that go on all-year round with few breaks, especially for international footballers and those in teams competing on multiple fronts.
I know the men's and the women's games are different, but we got exposed to these issues when we went from amateur to professional. There was a lot of loading, a lot of games and the result of that was a higher risk of injury and we have seen a lot of anterior cruciate ligament injuries now in the women's game.
From the fans' side, their point is often that players get paid a lot of money but I think that is irrelevant. That is just the industry players are in and, if you take out the money, they are still human beings.
The governing bodies need to look at who they consult with about changes in the calendar such as World Cups being held in winter and summers where there is just a couple of weeks off before going straight back into it. The changes and fixtures that are put in are there to generate more money, which makes it difficult. As a business, it is about money.
We talk about mental health a lot and you wonder, where is the time to switch off and have that time away from playing? To have that family time which is a deep human need? At some point mentally, if not physically, it will take its toll.
None of us want to see players striking, but players need to be listened to. What do they need to do to make change happen?
Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson
Newcastle are monitoring 18-year-old Norwegian forward Sindre Walle Egeli, dubbed the next Erling Haaland, with West Ham, Crystal Palace, Brighton and Brentford also interested in the £25m-rated teenager. (Daily Mail), external
Meanwhile, Magpies midfielder Joelinton, 28, wants to end his career in his native Brazil but remains committed to the Magpies for now. (Chronicle), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column
