There has been some debate as to what is causing Newcastle United to struggle – at least in relative terms – this season.
While Newcastle’s frankly ridiculous injury crisis and relentless schedule cannot be ignored, the likes of Alan Shearer have suggested it cannot be the only problem.
Seriously underperforming away from home too in the Premier League, with Saturday’s miserable defeat at Luton surely the nadir, and it all makes for rather depressing reading.
That’s not to say there haven’t been brilliant performances this season and wins over Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Arsenal and Chelsea will live long in the memory.
Still, the level of consistency Newcastle had last season has seemingly gone for now at least and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher has now offered his verdict.
Newcastle news: Jamie Carragher now explains ‘tough’ run of form
Speaking on Sky’s Gary Neville Podcast (via YouTube), Carragher reflected on Newcastle’s defeat to Luton.
“Newcastle are just finding it tough,” he said.
“The same players are playing week in, week out.”
Newcastle news: Howe’s team running on empty
Newcastle looked out of ideas on Saturday at Luton. As per the Premier League’s official data, they mustered just two shots on target from 15 taken and did little with their 65.3% possession.
Most of the squad available have had to play so often in such a short time frame. That does not mean they get a free pass and of course other clubs have that issue too but it’s hard to ignore that.
It feels like they’re running on empty. With a relatively quiet January transfer window expected too, it seems unlikely much in the way of mid-season reinforcement will be on the way.
Quite how they turn things around is difficult to see, particularly with more big games just around the corner.
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