If Newcastle United were a bit better away from home, they could be on course for another special season.
However, the Magpies are like a different team when they play away from St James’ Park. While at home Eddie Howe‘s side are dominant, that is not the case on the road.
Newcastle have only won one Premier League game away from home this season. That came back in September when we beat Sheffield United 8-0. You could argue we used up too many of our goals!
Our only other triumph on the road came in the Carabao Cup. That was a 3-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, on a night where the Magpies really flexed their muscles despite heavily rotating the starting XI.
Rotation has become a bit of an issue since then, however. Injuries have piled up, with key players missing for long periods. For example, Sven Botman has only just recovered from a knee injury that kept him out of 17 consecutive games.
The injuries have meant that Newcastle’s team has rarely been settled this season, while the amount of games have simply resulted in more injuries.
It has not hindered us at St James’ Park, but it has away from home.
Why Newcastle think they are struggling away from home
According to the Athletic, people inside the club at Newcastle United are putting the poor away form down to a lack of ‘cohesion’ and ‘continuity’.
As we previously mentioned, Howe has rarely had a settled team. There has been so much chopping and changing, usually because of necessity.
Our summer transfer business was meant to give us a deeper squad so that Howe could rotate, but he has been robbed of that opportunity. Instead, his squad has been stretched to its absolute limit.
As it stands, Newcastle are sixth in the Premier League. That is mainly down to our home form, with 24 out of 29 points coming from games at St James’ Park.
There have been disappointing draws with West Ham and Wolves – games where Newcastle threw away a lead. If we had held on for victory in those games, we would be looking much more likely to qualify for the Champions League again.
That is now going to be extremely difficult, but it is certainly not out of the question. With less games to contend with, normal service should hopefully resume for Newcastle in 2024.
The schedule will become less relentless, and Newcastle should hopefully find the cohesion and continuity that they are missing to boost their away form.
But up next is Luton Town at Kenilworth Road, which is going to be another tough test for a travelling Newcastle United side.
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