Newcastle United are into the quarter finals of the FA Cup, but only just.
Eddie Howe‘s side were incredibly poor at Ewood Park, with the Newcastle players providing no response to their dismal display away to Arsenal just days earlier.
This was described as the Magpies’ biggest game of the season before kickoff, but they certainly did not play as if that was the case.
In the end, Newcastle did get the job done. They advanced to the next round of the FA Cup, but needed a penalty shootout to beat Championship side Blackburn Rovers.
Martin Dubravka was Newcastle’s hero, having made his return after missing the Arsenal game due to illness.
The 35-year-old bailed his teammates out, who continued their recent trend of below par performances.
Alan Shearer certainly was not impressed, and explained why he is so worried right now as a Newcastle United.
Alan Shearer is worried about Newcastle United
During BBC One’s coverage of Blackburn Rovers vs Newcastle United, Alan Shearer explained why he is so worried about the Magpies at the moment.
“What worries me about Newcastle is last year, time and time again, we saw them outrun teams, we saw them out-power teams,” he said.
“Yet for the last two or three months of this season, and certainly tonight, we haven’t seen anywhere near enough of that. They look really weak.
“The goal they gave away is typical of how they are playing and how they are giving goals away. I’m really worried being a Newcastle fan.”
Newcastle were poor despite FA Cup win vs Blackburn
Eddie Howe has always said that intensity is his Newcastle United team’s identity, but that was not the case against Arsenal. And it was not the case against Blackburn either.
The Magpies were really poor at Ewood Park, with Blackburn creating a lot of chances. On another night, they could have made it through.
Defensively, we continued our rotten run. The goal we conceded came from a mistake by Jamaal Lascelles, who had came into the side for Sven Botman. The 24-year-old was being rested and missed the FA Cup game.
But it was a very strong Newcastle team that Howe put out, and one that should have been far too good for Blackburn. However, they were not.
Instead, the Magpies had to rely on the lottery of penalties.
While he will be happy that his side are through to the next round, Howe will not be happy with his players’ performance. They need to be told some home truths in the coming days, because they are currently unrecognisable to the team that did so well last season.
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