Results haven’t been going Newcastle United’s way recently, and the goal drought is a massive cause for concern. But there’s no doubting the players’ commitment and passion, and yesterday Eddie Howe saw that in full effect during one particular incident.
Newcastle still couldn’t find that lucky break in front of goal yesterday, something that has eluded them for three games in a row now, but the passion and desire to win was definitely still there. The lads had fire in their bellies as they squared up against Manchester City’s superstars – literally.
There was an incident on 72 minutes when Jack Grealish was felled by Dan Burn with the Blyth native immediately telling Grealish to get up. Soon back-up arrived for Grealish with the hulking Erling Haaland facing up to Burn, but he wasn’t backing down and gave as good as he got. Both players earned themselves a yellow card for their scuffle, but Eddie Howe liked what he saw.
Eddie Howe loved what he saw during the Grealish incident
Speaking to the media after the game, Howe said (via The Chronicle): “We have got a team full of warriors, full of really competitive players that are desperate to win.
“That’s so important for me as a manager to see that drive in the team. We’re not going to sit back, we’re not going to take what’s happening in the game. We will stand up for ourselves, we will stand up for each other. I want to see that on the pitch.”
It’s another indication that Howe is more than happy to play the dirty game to get a win. Newcastle have garnered a reputation for using disruptive tactics to upset the opposition. Erik ten Hag recently called it “annoying“, and that’s a badge of honour as far as I’m concerned, and I’d dare bet that Howe feels the same.
We’re not dirty, we’re committed
Joelinton picked up his 10th yellow card of the campaign yesterday and now misses two games as a result, but Howe didn’t seem disappointed with his Brazilian stalwart when it was mentioned by NUFC TV. Bruno Guimaraes has just returned from a three game suspension following a red card.
At the end of the day, these incidents aren’t as a result of dangerous or dirty play, just collateral damage from playing fully committed and wanting to win.
I’d take a poor disciplinary record every season if it all came from those means. Obviously, we don’t want to go full Vinnie-Jones-era-Wimbledon, that’s a bit too far, but I love that Howe is happy to see the players getting stuck in and standing their ground. That’s a winning mentality.
Now we just need to get back to actually winning games.