Eddie Howe raises worrying Newcastle United team selection question after £75m changes v Fulham

Newcastle suffered their first loss of the season with goals from Raul Jimenez and Emile Smith-Rowe putting Fulham into a commanding lead at half-time. Harvey Barnes pulled a goal back for Newcastle early in the second half but The Magpies weren’t able to find an equaliser as Reiss Nelson capitalised on a Bruno Guimaraes error in stoppage time to put the result beyond doubt.

The Magpies had picked up 10 points from their opening four Premier League matches despite not being at their best levels but were unable to keep the run going at Craven Cottage.

“I thought in the first half we were too reactive,” Howe said. “We conceded a really poor first goal and whenever you go away from home and you give the opposition help and a stimulus, the crowd get in the game and the first half was really hard for us.

“Second half we chased the game effectively until the end but we need to reflect on it and analyse it.”

Howe made four changes to the side that beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 last time out with Kieran Trippier, Lloyd Kelly, Joe Willock and Harvey Barnes coming into the side. But at half-time, both Kelly and Willock were taken off and replaced by Lewis Hall and Jacob Murphy.

When asked about the thinking behind his team selection, Howe told The Gazette: “Every game is different and we’re trying to pick the team that we feel gives us the best chance to win the game today.

“Harvey Barnes definitely deserves to start and I was happy with the team. The players that started the game were part of our comeback against Wolves and I was anticipating a really good performance but it wasn’t there. It’s really disappointing.”

Explaining the half-time changes, Howe added: “Both tactical. Joe did so well against Wolves and I felt it was right to reward him with a start but then you see the game and I question whether that was the right decision from myself so I’ll take responsibility for that.

“Joe is just back from injury and done very well to come back, he’s such a big player for us and I was keen to see him play but it was a tough one for him and the team.

“It’s not something I want to be doing but I felt we needed to do it for the game and our performance. I thought we were better in the second half so there is a degree that the substitutions helped us at that stage, maybe not the latter ones where I thought our performance tailed off in the second period.

“But definitely the ones at half-time. I thought Lewis Hall did really well and Jacob of course set up the goal. There was a much better feel about the group in the second half. Fabian [Schar]’s chance is probably a key moment in the match. It could have been different for us but it wasn’t to be.”