185. That’s how many points Newcastle United have picked up since Eddie Howe took charge of a side in deep relegation trouble nearly three years ago. For context, Manchester United and Chelsea were among those teams who started from a higher base and spent more on transfers and wages, yet accumulated fewer points, while only Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool have claimed more results in that time than Newcastle. All amidst tight PSR restrictions.
No wonder Jamie Carragher sent a timely reminder that the ‘biggest thing that could go wrong at Newcastle is losing Eddie Howe because he’s the most important person at that club’. Yes, the last 10 points have been hard-earned, but Newcastle are showing the grit that will be sorely needed if the Magpies are to mount a sustained challenge for a European spot this season.
“It’s all about finding different ways to win,” Howe previously said. “It won’t always be the perfect game.
“There will be games for whatever reason the team doesn’t quite gel with the ball. There will be times where physically we’re feeling tired in the game. That’s just natural through a 38-game season. When you’re in those moments, can you regroup and still find a way to win the game?”
Newcastle are doing just that. The Magpies came from behind to beat Wolves on Sunday and to claim a draw at Bournemouth last month, picking up three more points in these fixtures than they did last year. Newcastle also managed to dig out a winner against Southampton on the opening day, despite playing more than an hour with 10 men, and found a way to beat Spurs, who had 66% possession, 20 shots and 12 corners.
Interestingly, the latest goal Newcastle conceded in their opening four league games of the season was in the 56th minute. In contrast, Newcastle let in four goals past this point in both the opening four and final four league games of the previous campaign.
That newfound resilience was evident at Molineux after Harvey Barnes’ wondergoal put Newcastle in front late on and club legend Alan Shearer referenced the ‘amazing team spirit’ Howe has fostered that is ‘getting them through games’. So many individuals played their part as Newcastle got over the line on Sunday: Kieran Trippier made one particularly crucial clearance; Dan Burn hooked Matheus Cunha’s cross away; Jacob Murphy played out of position at left-back after Lewis Hall pulled up with cramp; Sandro Tonali held off Goncalo Guedes inside the box; Lloyd Kelly headed Carlos Forbs’ cross clear; Anthony Gordon smartly won a free-kick deep inside his half; and Fabian Schar swept away Cunha’s cross at the near post right at the death.
On the one occasion Wolves managed to get in, after Newcastle took the lead, the visitors had a goalkeeper in Nick Pope capable of producing a jaw-dropping save in stoppage time to keep out Cunha’s sweetly-struck volley. The final whistle sounded just a few minutes later to confirm Newcastle had made their best start to a season since 1995 despite being nowhere near their best once again.
In contrast, last year, Newcastle rarely picked up results on the road when the injury-ravaged black-and-whites did not play well. Bournemouth, Everton, Luton Town and Crystal Palace were among those sides who defeated the Magpies. Only Sheffield United, Luton Town and Brentford lost more games on their travels in the Premier League.
However, by hook or by crook, Newcastle are finding a way to grind out results and there is still so much more to come from Howe’s team as goal scorer Fabian Schar knows only too well. “We can play a lot better football,” the defender admitted. “That’s always good to know because we want to go to the next level.”
