Eddie Howe has work to do at both ends of the pitch as Newcastle United head into a crucial period of the season lacking in both confidence and consistency. The Magpies were beaten on the road over the weekend, losing 4-2 to Brentford, in another display where only 45 minutes of the encounter was commendable.
Shipping four at the Gtech Community Stadium just days after conceding three second half strikes at home to Liverpool has put the spotlight firmly on Howe‘s defence heading into the festive period. However, a deep dive into the statistics shows it is actually the top end of the pitch where Newcastle may need to place most of their focus.
Going back to last season, Newcastle scored 85 times in the top flight – their best return in a Premier League season – with only Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool finding the net more often. Crucially, Howe’s side had 20 different scorers across the entire campaign, ranking them 1st in that particular statistic.
This season, they have dropped all the way to 20th with only five different scorers – Alexander Isak, Joelinton, Anthony Gordon, Harvey Barnes and Fabian Schar – with Ipswich Town, Aston Villa and Everton closest to them with seven different scorers apiece. Arsenal, Bournemouth and Brighton already have 12 separate names on their scoring charts.
That means no goals so far from wingers Jacob Murphy or Miguel Almiron, fringe star William Osula and the returning Callum Wilson. Sandro Tonali, Joe Willock and Sean Longstaff have not netted from midfield and Schar is the only member of the backline to chip in with goals. Even Gordon and Joelinton – two who have both found the net twice – aren’t scoring on a regular basis.
Again going back to last season, the St James’ Park outfit averaged 2.2 goals per game and scored three or more times in 14 separate clashes. Their big-chance conversion rate was the fourth-highest in the league, at 48 per cent, with 64 goals from 134 ‘big chances’.
However, the usually free-flowing nature of Howe’s teams looks a million miles away at present. This time around they have netted just 19 goals in 15 games, with only Crystal Palace, Everton, Ipswich Town and Southampton scoring fewer. For goals on home soil Newcastle rank 16th with just eight in seven St James’ Park ties. Last term, only Manchester City scored more in their own backyard than the north east outfit.
To add, a common theme of late has been Newcastle failing to chase games when going behind. In recent matches against both West Ham United and Brentford, Howe threw over £100m worth of talent on the pitch from the bench and watched his become more disjointed in the process.
And when it comes to taking control of matches early, Newcastle have only scored twice in the opening 15 minutes in their opening 15 games; putting them in 18th place for that particular metric. For context, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur top that list with six goals in the early stages.
You can also point the fact Newcastle are failing to score first, taking the lead in just 33 per cent of their matches this season, compared to an overall figure of 58 per cent last term.
After two assists in Saturday’s 4-2 reversal, Jacob Murphy now tops Newcastle’s standings with five so far this season. A damning indictment of Newcastle’s creativity of late given the winger has earned starts in less than half of the club’s league games.
Howe is currently looking for the answers internally but with the January transfer window around the corner, Newcastle have an opportunity to seek out additional firepower. Murphy’s position on the right of the attack is one particular spot where investment could be sought, despite focus being placed on defensive assets over the summer.
This, despite Howe recently admitting there would be no knee-jerk recruitment decisions taken on the back of a handful of matches.
“I think we have to take a long-term strategic view looking at ages and contract lengths, positional need,” Howe told reporters recently, when quizzed about Newcastle’s struggles in front of goal earlier in the season. “There’ll be no snap decisions based on a couple of games where we haven’t scored.”
Upcoming league clashes with Leicester City and Ipswich Town present ideal opportunities for Newcastle to flex their attacking muscles once more but failure to do so will ramp up the pressure ahead of the winter market – and do little to ease lingering concerns after a shaky start to the campaign.
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/newcastle-united-drop-1st-20th-30554215
