I asked Eddie Howe if he prioritised physicality over creativity at Newcastle United - here's what he said
Newcastle United gained a reputation under Eddie Howe for being one of the most physical and powerful teams in the Premier League.
Newcastle United gained a reputation under Eddie Howe for being one of the most physical and powerful teams in the Premier League.
Even as recently as last month, Everton head coach David Moyes described The Magpies as ‘the most powerful team in the Premier League’ after they stormed to a 4-1 win at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. That remains their only away win in the league this campaign.
Howe’s first full season at the club saw Newcastle blow teams away and prove very hard to beat with an ‘intensity is our identity approach, combined with the clinical finishing of players like Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak at the time.
The Magpies finished fourth and qualified for the Champions League, losing just five games and conceding 33 goals. No side had conceded or lost fewer games in the Premier League that season.
The following season, an injury-hit Newcastle struggled to cope with the demands of Champions League football combined with being competitive in the Premier League. As a result, their form suffered but they were still able to finish seventh and set a record for most goals scored by the club over the course of a Premier League season with 85.
The goals, entertainment and physical brand of football were still there. Despite claims of staleness and an intensity drop-off during the first half of last season, Howe and his players were able to turn things around remarkably by securing a Carabao Cup win and Champions League qualification.
That will never be forgotten, it was the club’s best season in recent memory. Now Newcastle are in a very different place.
Newcastle United’s struggles
Howe’s side lacks identity and creativity and find themselves languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table, as they have all season. But now at the midway point in the season after a tumultuous summer, and fresh from a 1-0 defeat against a weakened Manchester United side, the concerns are as obvious as they are genuine.
Newcastle dominated possession at Old Trafford with almost 70% of the ball and put over 60 crosses into the box from various set-piece and open play situations. Yet had no goals or meaningful shots on target to come from it.
They ended the match with a near-identical expected goals stat as Man United, who spent the majority of the game camped inside their own half.
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“We’re slightly lacking confidence,” Howe admitted. “The ultimate confidence you need to win.
“The quality is there; you can see that in the second half. But we’re conceding goals when we don’t look like we should, and we’re not scoring the goals we should at the other end. That’s a deadly mix.
“Overall, we’re performing much better than earlier in the season, and I think we’re closer to finding the consistency we crave. This is where me and the coaching team have to be really strong.”
The quality may be there for Newcastle to pass the ball about and control games and physically overpower their opposition, but the lack of cutting edge and creativity has been evident from some time due to the lack of high value chances created.
“We controlled the game much better with the ball,” Howe added. “The build-up was really good. And then our chance creation was…I think we created chances, we just didn’t create outstanding chances, the type of chances you need to score.
“We’re desperately disappointed.”
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Is it a squad issue for NUFC
A growing observation among supporters is that Howe has assembled a squad with an imbalance between creative players and those with strong physical attributes. The focus on pace, height and power has arguably taken precedence over creativity and flair.
But when that concern was put to Howe after the Manchester United game, he responded: “Everyone can have an opinion. We constantly analyse the squad. The numbers around goals and chance creation aren’t where we want them to be, so that’s something I’ll reflect on."