Eddie Howe admits he’s now questioning himself after starting £25m Newcastle star vs Fulham

Add as preferred source on Google

Newcastle United’s unbeaten run this season is over.

While Newcastle’s performances in the Premier League had hardly made it the most convincing of unbeaten runs, it was at least something to cling onto after a difficult summer for the club.

Still, it all came to an end at Fulham on Saturday with a 3-1 defeat and a performance Alan Shearer even slammed as “awful”.

Eddie Howe will no doubt have been hugely disappointed with his side.

Harvey Barnes, after all, admitted the team were just not aggressive enough off the ball, which was previously a hallmark of Howe’s team as they staved off relegation to reach the Champions League.

Very few Newcastle players covered themselves in glory at Craven Cottage and Howe actually hinted he may have made a mistake when starting Joe Willock.

Eddie Howe admits he’s questioning himself at Newcastle

Talking to Newcastle World after the game, Howe shared that he felt Willock had deserved a start following an impressive outing at Wolves last week.

Still, the £25m star was far from at his best against Fulham, failing to make a tackle, dribble or even have a shot (via WhoScored).

“Joe [Willock] 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,” he said.

Sandro Tonali has to come into the Newcastle team right away

It is perhaps understandable that Howe would treat Sandro Tonali’s return to the team with caution given just how long he’s been out.

Still, the Italian international simply has to start now. Howe suggested he was close to a starting berth before the game, so he surely cannot be too far off regular contention now.

Willock is allowed an off day and certainly showed his quality at Wolves but Tonali feels like the obvious choice going forward.

It was a poor performance for Newcastle and not one in isolation, so clearly the balance of the team needs changing.