Eddie Howe’s return to Bournemouth ended with just a point, as his Newcastle United side drew 1-1 with the Cherries on Saturday night.
It was an emotional evening for the Toon boss, who received an incredible ovation from the home supporters inside the Vitality Stadium. They paid tribute to the man who made everything possible for them, and finally got a chance to thank him after his 2020 departure.
But away from his return to the south coast, Howe will have been disappointed with his side. The Magpies were poor against Bournemouth, as this worrying blip continues.
Newcastle have now only won one of their last six league games, and were saved by Miguel Almiron’s 10th goal of the season.
Howe’s players are starting to look tired, having played with such intensity for so long. We have had some huge games since the World Cup ended, while Howe has had limited chance to rotate his side due to a lack of options.
That appears to be culminating in some tired performances, despite the manager’s reported desire to avoid all talk of ‘fatigue‘ on Tyneside.
Newcastle were ‘jaded’ at Bournemouth
The Athletic’s Chris Waugh has spoke on the latest episode of Pod On The Tyne, and shared what dressing room sources told him after the draw with Bournemouth.
“For the first time, I exchanged a few messages with people inside the dressing room and there was even an acceptance that they probably were jaded down there,” he said.
“That was from people even inside the dressing room. So I think there is an acceptance that they’ve reached a certain stage in the season physically in terms of just the number of players who have gone down and who they’re having to use over and over again.
“Eddie Howe has 14 or 15 players he calls upon over and over again which says a lot about squad depth.
“But then also psychologically, it probably has slipped towards Wembley.”
Newcastle must pick themselves up
The draw with Bournemouth was disappointing. Howe’s side were sloppy, while there were errors at the back that have been a rarity this season.
The manager will say otherwise publicly, but it does feel like tiredness has crept in. It has been relentless over the past few weeks – both physically and mentally. That was always going to take its toll.
But all Newcastle can do is pick themselves up and go again, because our next two games are huge. First is Liverpool at home, in what is an important fixture in our bid to secure Champions League football. There will also be a desire for the Magpies to get revenge after what happened at Anfield.
Then it is the cup final. It is less than two weeks until we head to Wembley to take on Manchester United in the Carabao Cup final. The players need no introduction to that fixture. They know exactly how big it is.
Newcastle were ‘jaded’ on Saturday, but Howe needs his players to push through the pain barrier during what is a pivotal two weeks of our season.
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