It would take you a long time to list all of the problems at Newcastle United right now.
Things are going terribly on the pitch, with the Magpies sitting in 19th place in the Premier League. On top of that, they haven’t won any of their opening 10 games and are already six points adrift.
It’s going to take a huge effort from the new manager to guide this club towards safety. Thankfully, Eddie Howe has already identified two areas of weakness.
The 43-year-old looks set to become the new Newcastle manager, with reports stating he will sign a two-and-a-half year contract with the Magpies.
Eddie Howe worried by Newcastle’s fitness
One of the issues reportedly identified by Howe is the team’s fitness levels.
It’s been clear all season that Newcastle are well off the pace. On occasions we’ve started games well, only to fall apart after 20 minutes due to lack of energy.
It happened on the opening day against West Ham, and it happened again in the first game since the takeover versus Spurs.
There were always complaints from fans about the training schedule during Bruce’s reign, with it clearly having a knock on effect on the players’ running ability.
Hopefully that will change under Howe.
Organisation another big problem for Newcastle
According to the Daily Mail, the second problem noted by Howe is the team’s poor organisation.
Under Rafa Benitez we were rock solid. The football wasn’t always pretty, but it was clear that everyone knew what their job was. We were hard to beat.
As time went on under Bruce, that quality disappeared. We leak goals on the regular, conceding 23 times already this season. Only Norwich have let in more with 25 (and seven of them were scored by Chelsea).
Questions will be raised whether or not Howe is the man to re-organise the Magpies. His Bournemouth side never had a great record at the back in the Premier League.
But these are two simple ways that we can improve. The fitter we are, the longer we can stay in games. The more organised we are, the less likely we are to concede.
It’s quite simple really. It doesn’t take a genius to identify these issues. Most people inside of St James’ Park could have told you this.
But it will be up to Howe to find the solutions once his appointment is confirmed.
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