Eddie Howe We have some notes…

Thank you Eddie Howe.

A bit of an up and downer this season.

Some great results but also a few that must have had you staring at your fifteen tactics boards, swearing under your breath.

We have a decent pool of talent, as long as they’re not in the sick bay or being done for gambling.

We have ambition and ability.

So what do we need to do to turn this good team into a winning one?

Yes, you need to move a few players out, but what else has filled your notebook on the trip to Oz?

FITNESS

Eddie Howe has said that the demands of modern football take a heavy toll on players.

You’re not wrong.

Nearly all Premier League teams have found it hard to maintain a stable team across the season. Interesting to note that Chelsea (54) suffered more injuries than the 38 Newcastle United did (ED: However, the main stat was that NUFC lost by far more days to to injuries, by far the worst in the top tier, hundreds of more days lost to injury by Eddie Howe’s players compared to the next worst hit PL club).

Not being able to play Tonali added to our troubles.

West Ham enjoyed a decent run in Europe and maintained reasonable form in the Prem without suffering nearly as many injuries. Would it be ridiculous to invite someone like David Moyes to make an independent assessment of the club’s system?

A bigger issue is dealing with the demands of global sports media for more “content”. You can’t turn sportsmen into superhumans, no matter how much money you throw at them. However, travelling to Australia doesn’t help.

CONVERSION RATES

Newcastle United have scored a huge number of goals this season. Some stats suggest our shot conversion rate is the highest in the league.

Alexander Isak is incredible. Callum Wilson is a goal machine, albeit one that is often up on blocks. So is it rude to ask for more goals? In several games we missed decent chances. No harm putting the pressure on to break more records. Especially if we sort out…

DEFENCE

A let down, I think we all recognise that. Tripp’s form fell off a cliff. Botman played with an injury when he should have had surgery. The lack of a steady back four hurt us. We’ve been exposed on the break too many times. Hard work and new bodies required.

PASSING ACCURACY

None of our squad feature in the top 25 for passing accuracy.

The team ranked 8th overall for passing. The very best teams rarely surrender possession. Needs attention.

For example, no defender should be allowed to clear the ball from the back unless it hits one of his own players.

WINNING MENTALITY

Eddie Howe has a determined and disciplined squad

However, we stumble in crunch games. It’s difficult to embed a winning mentality in players unless you’ve already won something. What is the answer?

While I applaud the philosophy of buying young talent at the right price, I think the team needs to invest in a couple of tough winners. Look at the impact of Martinez at Villa or Palacios at Leverkusen.

Eddie Howe – after all the hard work you and your training team have done to build Newcastle, I really hope you come good next season.

Winning a trophy would justify your efforts and our faith in the team.

Good luck, not just down under, but for the whole of next season.