Howe: Still has a long way to go to change old habits Undoubtedly, things have improved at St James’ Park since the early days of this season, when the Magpies were struggling to get out the bottom three. However, there is one thing which hasn’t changed, and has actually got marginally worse in the 20 games since Eddie Howe took over, goals, or lack of them.
Eddie Howe’s record for goals scored per game is actually lower than Steve Bruce’s was in the first eight games of the season before he was sacked. Whilst Bruce’s side scored an average of 1.25 goals per game, in his 20 games so far, Howe’s side has managed only 11 goals, with a goals per game average of only 1.1. (more…)
A return to the top table? Newcastle United may have narrowly missed out on silverware in the Carabao Cup, but Eddie Howe can still exceed pre-season predictions enough to receive the LMA Manager of the Year award if they secure Champions League football.
That’s the opinion of bookmakers.tv, who have crunched the numbers to compare each Premier League team’s actual performance with how betting sites expected them to perform at the start of the season. All 20 sides were given a points handicap, with Manchester City and Liverpool predictably starting on just zero and four points respectively, while Bournemouth and Fulham were both handed a head start in excess of 50 points. (more…)
A completely transformed Miguel Almiron. As I think most fans would agree, Eddie Howe and Newcastle United Technical Director, Dan Ashworth, have done as well as can be expected in augmenting the squad with their much improved transfer budget. As defenders, midfielders and finally, a new striker came in, it seemed as if logically, the next area for them to make a move would be on the right wing. Rumours about signing James Maddison from Leicester City have been rife for months but in the meantime, what on earth has happened to Miguel Almiron? (more…)
Jacob Murphy and Miguel Almiron. Whilst Miguel Almiron and Jacob Murphy have been great servants for the club, Almiron with his energy, and Murphy with his big contribution last season in terms of assists (he was joint top with Trippier on 7), there is little doubt that in the front three, the Magpies are stronger on the left with Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes than they are on the right, a situation which was not rectified in the last transfer window, nor the one before that.
Whilst Gordon can also play on the right, he is now undoubtedly a very important player for the side and not playing him in his optimum position would be a bad compromise. On the other hand, Barnes is also a fine left winger who is too good to waste away on the side lines. That’s a slightly different discussion though. The question for this article is why, not for the first time, have the club failed to strengthen the right wing, whilst bringing in some players in positions that seem to be more well served? (more…)
Odysseas Vlachodimos. Whilst some of the signings by Newcastle United this season are predictable and understandable, like Lewis Hall’s move from Chelsea after a season on loan, and the signing of Lloyd Kelly, a decent enough utility defender who played for Eddie Howe at Bournemouth, there are some which seem slightly more perplexing though, at least initially. In this piece, I will look at some of these, starting with Newcastle’s current roster of five first team goalkeepers.
There are the two new goalkeepers, Odysseas Vlachodimos and John Ruddy from Nottingham Forest and Birmingham respectively. (more…)
