Eddie Howe and his Newcastle United staff were not so worried about the most recent defeat to Bournemouth, but rather the manner in which the team played.
Newcastle were hugely disappointing in their trip to the south coast over a week and a half ago, even with their injury record taken into account.
The Athletic have now claimed that it was the overall ‘meekness’ of the performance which left staff so ‘alarmed’ rather than the 2-0 scoreline.
Newcastle were woeful vs Bournemouth
Fans can appreciate that there were 12 first team players either out injured or suspended and they can appreciate that this forced 17-year-old Lewis Miley to make his starting debut in the Premier League.
However, the concerning thing was the pace of their game, the lacklustre efforts into every challenge or attempts to attack and just how sluggish they felt everywhere on the pitch.
Added fixtures have clearly taken their toll on this stretched Newcastle squad, but Eddie Howe has to find a way of motivating his team from this Bournemouth defeat and recapturing the energy they showed against the likes of PSG and more recently Arsenal.
The Cherries came into the fixture having won just one game in the Premier League, but they controlled it so easily and looked more like a team fighting for Europe than Newcastle did.
As reported by The Athletic, staff were left very concerned with what they saw at the Vitality Stadium.
“What so alarmed staff was not that Newcastle lost that night far from home on the south coast, but the meekness of their display. As Alan Shearer, Newcastle’s record goalscorer, puts it, “They looked like they were playing in two feet of mud.”
“Newcastle were borderline uncompetitive in phases, against a Bournemouth side who had only previously won once this season. The fear of that being replicated is what has driven Howe on, to ensure it was a one-off. He does not recover from losses quickly, with the next victory the only pacifier.”
Newcastle need a quick turnaround
Howe and Newcastle have to put the Bournemouth game at the back of their minds and make tremendous improvements for their crucial upcoming fixtures.
The Magpies will face Chelsea, PSG and Manchester United in a span of just eight days and cannot afford another performance like the one on display on the south coast or they risk embarrassment.
After a 4-1 thrashing over PSG in the return leg, Luis Enrique’s team will be looking to set the record straight and it’s fair to say they’ve got quite a bit more quality in their squad than Bournemouth.
Getting players back from injury will be huge, but the main thing for Howe will be ensuring that his players are giving their all for the team and return to the high energy and high intensity style of play that Newcastle fans are so used to enjoying.
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