Eddie Howe Bournemouth
Despite a worrying defeat at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion, there were aspects to appreciate in Newcastle’s performance, which ended in a narrow loss. Alexander Isak, if fully fit and firing, likely capitalizes on one of his golden opportunities in front of goal. On another day, Anthony Gordon’s shot might fly past the keeper instead of Bart Verbruggen making one of his best saves of the season. These are the thoughts that will keep Eddie Howe awake as he searches for solutions following the disappointing 1-0 reverse at home to Brighton. Newcastle seemed to dominate the majority of the first half, making a goal feel almost inevitable as the team tried to pull one into the Gallowgate End net. Yet, after Isak missed a one-on-one with Verbruggen, there was a sense it might be one of those frustrating days. Alan Shearer described the situation accurately when he highlighted the pivotal moments and Newcastle’s struggle in the final third.
Alan Shearer said, “Too often, Isak had to create things himself as he took the ball wide of the penalty area and drilled in a couple of low efforts. After missing one first chance there was a plea to those around him for ‘precision’ and after spending more than £400m, particularly on players to go around Isak, you’d think there would be more of a system to feed the Sweden striker.”
Eddie Howe commented on the recent performance and the lack of goals: “When the goal drought from open play was put to Howe, he said: ‘Yes, of course, that’s not a good stat and we’re well aware of that. I think it’s just been a period where. ‘Of course, we were playing without a striker for a couple of those games, and I think that was potentially the issue in those games. I think today you can’t look at us and think we didn’t look like a good team. We did look like a good team which will score goals. We created chances today when we haven’t in previous games. I always think that’s the biggest judgment you can make. I think we did look creative today, I thought we had some really good moments, but it wasn’t to be.'”
Newcastle is currently struggling to match their prolific performance from the previous season. They aren’t scoring as freely, with win-less Wolves having one more goal than Newcastle, and even struggling Everton. No team in the top 10 has fewer goals than Newcastle, and Harvey Barnes is the top scorer with just three goals. Despite finishing seventh last season with an impressive tally of 85 goals in the Premier League, Newcastle currently doesn’t look like a team capable of scoring freely. Regardless of transfer needs, addressing this issue on the training pitch is crucial, especially with challenging fixtures against Chelsea home and away on the horizon.
