It’s often black and white with Newcastle United. Obvious, you may think, given the famous jerseys that have been in place for more than 100 years.
I’m not just talking about the kit, however. Opinions, views, feelings on the team are regularly polarised. There’s very little room for grey when it comes to how Newcastle is viewed.
The highs are sky high and the lows can sink deeper than the coal mines that used to reign across the North East. It’s always been so, back long before the advent of social media. Have a pint in the pub or a natter at the match and opinions can swing wildly from one extreme to another.
The team is great; the team is awful. This player is the best we’ve seen; no, he’s just an average Joe who wouldn’t be fit to tie the laces of some of the true greats.
The rollercoaster of emotions that following Newcastle United brings dips and soars more erratically than anything Alton Towers can offer. And let’s be honest, there have been more plunges than peaks over the last 50 years.
This current Newcastle United side has the ability to raise spirits like few others before it, however. When on song, the verve and energy, the pace and pressing, the aggression and attacking instinct is a joy to watch. Roared on by a passionate and pumped up St James’ Park, Eddie Howe’s side have shown they can go toe to toe with anyone. The 3-3 draw with Liverpool in November; the way Arsenal were overawed in the Carabao Cup semi-final; Man City taken all the way.
But it also has the ability, like sides gone before, to dull the senses. Dreary displays like those at Anfield last night and the Etihad 10 days earlier remind you of how difficult it will be for this team to win silverware or regularly challenge at the top of the table.
Liverpool barely had to get out of third gear as they strolled to a 2-0 victory. Newcastle weren’t bad – they certainly didn’t stink the place out like they did against City – but equally they barely laid a glove on the home side. Zero shots on target told the story.
Newcastle are in the midst of a slump, of that there can be no argument. It’s now four defeats in six Premier League games and some of them have been thumpings. 16 goals have alarmingly been shipped in that period. Somehow, mainly off the back of the stunning winning run either side of Christmas, they remain in sixth spot and in contention for Champions League qualification. But the trend is downward and the highs have reduced.
Newcastle say they haven’t lost focus with Wembley on the horizon. It’s easy to point to the upcoming Carabao Cup final as the reason behind the slump – after all, it happened two years ago. United went into the 2023 final on the back of xxxxxx and couldn’t raise their game sufficiently enough to end the long trophy wait.
This hasn’t turned into a bad side overnight. Social media opinion may wildly fluctuate, emotional after games and angry after losses, but Bruno Guimareas, Tino Livramento, Fabian Schar and others aren’t suddenly poor players, just as they weren’t all world beaters six weeks ago. They’re just in a bad spell, either through fatigue, form or something else.
Equally, Howe isn’t suddenly a bad manager. Somehow, though, he must regroup his squad and make them hard to beat again. Passive displays aren’t the way this Newcastle United side plays. ‘Intensity is our identity’ was the motto but bar the Arsenal game and 45 minutes against Forest, that has been sadly lacking. Look at the stats: sprints are down, turnovers are down; more big chances are being conceded.
There’s no manager better equipped to deal with the hand he’s been dealt. Howe has shown he has the skillset, the tools, the man-management ability and tactical nous to galvanise his players for one more big push.
History awaits if he can solve the issues. A title as one of the greatest managers the club has ever had will be bestowed – an opinion that will be written down in black and white for all time with no contradiction.
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/newcastle-united-cant-ignore-worrying-31091498
