It probably isn't the best idea to be writing anything about Newcastle right now after that display, but a job is a job.
We've suffered some bad results this season in what has been a testing campaign with injuries and the Sandro Tonali saga, but losing to Luton Town - there's just no excuse for that. Sorry to any Luton fans who may stumble upon this, it's not meant to be as disrespectful as it sounds, but the side that finished fourth in the Premier League last season should not be losing to a promoted side.
To be fair, it's not even the fact that we lost that's the problem. Freak results happen and that's what makes football so great. It's the manner of the defeat, the awful way the team performed. That's what is really causing the anger to flow today.
When a player like Bruno Guimaraes or a Kieran Trippier can't find a simple pass, you know you're in for a long afternoon.
At one point I looked at the clock and there was only 70 minutes gone but it felt like we were deep in stoppage time. Partly the fact that it felt like the game had dragged on for ages, but more so the fact that Newcastle were playing that panicked football that you play in the 93rd minute and you're looking for a winning goal.
Nothing we did looked cohesive, towards the end it was almost impossible to ascertain where anyone was supposed to be playing.
We're still not sure why Lewis Miley was brought off in the first half as he was by far our best player. The one time Eddie Howe looks to a plan B and he gets it all wrong.
It's getting harder and harder to keep cool after these matches. We know we've got a millionty injuries and that is a valid excuse, regardless of what anyone says, but playing the high-intensity game week in and week out with players who have run themselves into the ground is not helping anyone's cause.
Too much is being asked of the fit players, and too much is being asked of those who have just returned to fitness. We need a new style of play while everyone is on their arse, and we definitely need a new style of play away from home because whatever Eddie Howe is trying to do right now clearly isn't working.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Manchester City
|
9 | 11 | 23 |
2 |
Liverpool
|
9 | 12 | 22 |
3 |
Arsenal
|
9 | 7 | 18 |
4 |
Aston Villa
|
9 | 5 | 18 |
5 |
Chelsea
|
9 | 8 | 17 |
6 |
Brighton
|
9 | 4 | 16 |
7 |
Nottingham Forest
|
9 | 4 | 16 |
8 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
9 | 8 | 13 |
9 |
Brentford
|
9 | 0 | 13 |
10 |
Fulham
|
9 | 0 | 12 |
11 |
Bournemouth
|
9 | 0 | 12 |
12 |
Newcastle United
|
9 | -1 | 12 |
13 |
West Ham United
|
9 | -3 | 11 |
14 |
Manchester United
|
9 | -3 | 11 |
15 |
Leicester
|
9 | -4 | 9 |
16 |
Everton
|
9 | -6 | 9 |
17 |
Crystal Palace
|
9 | -5 | 6 |
18 |
Ipswich
|
9 | -11 | 4 |
19 |
Wolves
|
9 | -13 | 2 |
20 |
Southampton
|
9 | -13 | 1 |