Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe has claimed the confidence of his players is suffering after their winless away run continued with the 3-1 defeat at Brentford.
The Magpies threw away another lead on their travels as goals from Kevin Schade and Igor Thiago (two) saw Brentford complete a second-half turnaround.
Howe and his side were met with jeers from the away end at the Gtech Community Stadium after the final whistle, as their dismal run away from home extended to 10 games in the Premier League.
Their last win came against Leicester City in April, and Howe admits his squad are dealing with a crisis in confidence.
Eddie Howe admits he is open to change in order to turn Newcastle’s away form around
“My initial feeling after that game today is different to West Ham [3-1 defeat earlier this month],” Howe said.
“I thought the players were there, I thought they were present, I thought they gave everything to the game physically.
“But I think it was clear, if you watch Newcastle regularly, we were lacking in confidence today.
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Brentford convert another long throw as Kevin Schade equalises against Newcastle
“There were a lot of technical mistakes, which is really unlike us, especially in the middle of the pitch where we’re usually really fluent. And that contributed then to putting us under pressure.
“I think it’s really important today that I support the players and we know we’re good players. We know we’ve got a really good team, but we just need to stay grouped together in this difficult period.”
Goals an issue with away form, but Woltemade not to blame
In the nine away Premier League games since Newcastle beat Leicester City 3-0 at the King Power Stadium, Howe has watched his team score just five goals on their travels.
Compare that to the 20 they have managed at St James’ Park and the contrast becomes clear.
As a result, many point towards Nick Woltemade potentially becoming a problem.
Nick Woltemade has scored just one Premier League goal away from home
The German has scored four Premier League goals in eight appearances since joining in the summer, but only one of those has come away from home.
“I don’t think it’s just on Nick.” Howe said.
“I think he’s had a great start to his career here. I think we haven’t helped him be as effective as he can be, especially today.
“I thought it was a difficult game for him. Difficult in the respect that he’s the only fit centre-forward we have. So, again, more pressure and more weight on his shoulders.”
The data backs up Howe’s view. In the games since the Leicester win, Newcastle have managed 91 shots at an average of 9.1 per game. Compared to their home form, where they have 140 attempts at an average of 14 per game.
Something needs to change, and Howe is not opposed to that either.
“I think we need to be very calm, but we need to be measured and we need to be reflective,” he added.
“If there is a reshuffle, it needs to be done in the right way.
“It needs to be done with analysis and then detailed thoughts as to how the team’s going to go forward. I’m not adverse to that. We’re never going to do the same thing continually.”
Fans believe Howe has taken things as far as he can
Howe has been under pressure before. He responded by leading the Magpies to Carabao Cup success.
Now though, fans believe he has truly taken the team as far as he can.
Sky Sports opened up its dedicated Newcastle blog to comments, with the general consensus being now is the time for a change.
Newcastle’s performance against Newcastle was met with some boos from the away supporters
A lack of a plan B, unnecessary rotation and in-game decision-making all came under question. Howe’s response? Simply that the work starts now.
“My message is that we know it’s not good enough and I take full responsibility for that. And the work to putting that right starts now. That’s all that I can do in this moment.”
Newcastle look overwhelmed on their travels
Sky Sports’ Callum Bishop:
When you face Newcastle at St James’ Park, they are a team that often play with their chests puffed out as they are roared on by one of the best atmospheres in English football.
Anywhere else, they look fragile. Scared. Overwhelmed.
The Magpies were never really able to establish themselves at the Gtech, and for large parts they played the game that Brentford wanted to play.
You look at some of the quality they have. Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali. They just looked disjointed. Is it down to Howe’s consistent rotation meaning they cannot build the relationships they need to on the pitch? Or do they just struggle to implement their game plan outside of their own cauldron?
That being said, what is their game plan? There were no patterns of play. No attempt to control the tempo or hit on the break. The ball would be played into Woltemade, but the nearest players to him would be wide on the flanks offering little support.
The international break has to be used to figure out this conundrum. Howe has been criticised plenty in the past. But right now, he looks short of solutions.
