Newcastle United have not kept a Premier League clean sheet since December 16th 2023.
The Magpies have played seven league games since then, and they have conceded at least one goal in each of them. In fact, five of them have seen Newcastle let in two or more.
It is a far cry from last season when Eddie Howe had built one of the Premier League‘s meanest defences. Newcastle were clean sheet masters last season, but now they are proving to be much harder to come by.
There are plenty of issues at Newcastle that are influencing their inability to keep clean sheets, but they are problems that are not going to go away anytime soon.
And, according to the Athletic’s Chris Waugh, Newcastle’s coaching staff are well aware that something needs to change.
What Newcastle staff are saying about current defensive issues
Chris Waugh has spoke about Newcastle’s recent defensive struggles on the latest episode of Pod On The Tyne.
“They’ve had no clean sheets in seven league games, and they’ve conceded 18 in that time,” he said.
“They had to score four at home to get a draw with Luton. They had to score three away from home to beat Nottingham Forest. That doesn’t feel sustainable.
“Speaking to people in and around the coaching staff, they’ve said we know that’s an issue, we know defensively we simply have to sort that out because we can’t just keep getting ourselves out of this position.”
Injuries are hindering Newcastle’s defence
While Newcastle’s strongest back four is fully fit, they are not surrounded by the same people who made them so solid last season.
The Magpies’ midfield is much easier to play through at the minute, which is down the absence of Joelinton and Joe Willock. And while Willock might be back soon, Joelinton’s season looks to be over – and he is the bigger miss when it comes to protecting the defence.
Elsewhere, the fact that Nick Pope is unavailable remains a big issue. Martin Dubravka is not as good at rushing out, which means there is either more space for the opposition to exploit or the Newcastle defence is much deeper. And if it is the latter, it means there is either a bigger gap between them and the midfield, or they are forced to drop deeper. This all has a knock on effect on how the team play.
Right now, scoring goals is not an issue and we are looking up the table rather than down. But we must become tighter at the back if we are to have any hope of challenging for the Champions League.
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