Newcastle duo must never start together again for Howe

Newcastle United are heading for another Champions League draw in midweek after a disappointing Premier League result on the road.

Before facing José Mourinho’s Benfica in mid-October and convincingly putting them to the sword 3-0 in Europe’s illustrious competition, the Toon had fallen short at Brighton and Hove Albion in a 2-1 defeat on the south coast.

Eddie Howe will be hoping to get a similar response from his troops when Athletic Club travel to Tyneside on Wednesday evening, as Newcastle’s “passive” afternoon against the Hammers – as journalist Craig Hope put it – saw the visiting side leave the London Stadium empty-handed in a 3-1 defeat.

Howe will have had plenty to chew on after that defeat, as he cut a forlorn figure after the match, while Nuno Espirito Santo jumped for joy, as he momentarily halted West Ham’s rot.

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The usually mild-mannered Howe described his team’s performance as “unrecognizable” to what Newcastle are all about. Indeed, as Toon great Alan Shearer noted after the match, it was a “leggy” rather than an energetic performance.

Joelinton, once again, showed worrying signs of decline against Nuno’s hosts, as the understated Brazilian won just three of his seven duels in the 3-1 defeat.

Following such a lifeless performance, Lucas Paqueta and Freddie Potts dominated proceedings at center stage for the east Londoners, as Paqueta scored a long-range ball to level the match in the first half, while Potts also managed to win one more duel than the under-par number seven, in what was his first league start of the season.

He could risk being sidelined for the La Liga side’s next clash; therefore, Anthony Gordon also faces the axe, having lasted just 45 minutes at the London Stadium, before being sent off.

With no goals or assists next to his name in the Premier League this season, it’s no shock to see journalist Charlie Bennett declare that the former Everton winger is “not unshakable”, ahead of Wednesday’s St James’ Park clash.

But, while it is slightly controversial whether Gordon and Joelinton will actually be dropped, it seems far more urgent that this duo should be immediately left out of the starting XI.

Newcastle duo must never play together again

Halloween might well have happened in another year when West Ham and Newcastle faced off, but the Toon’s defensive performance was still woefully below average.

Prior to the showdown at the London Stadium, the relegation-threatened hosts had managed to score just a measly seven Premier League goals throughout the season.

But, with Howe selecting Emil Krafth and Dan Burn as two full-back options, the Hammers were lucky going forward, as can be seen by looking in more detail at their disastrous performances.

Indeed, together the makeshift full-back partnership failed to win any tackles and won just two of their seven duels.

Fortunately, Krafth would be knocked out of action by halftime, but – when he was still on the pitch – he also failed to muster a single successful dribble in an attempt to turn his faltering team into a top threat.

However, Burn lasted a full 90 minutes, with the Blyth-born fighter also failing to complete a single successful dribble, as well as wasting possession 14 times.

As one analyst put it at the final whistle, the underperforming numbers 17 and 33 are both “centre-back profiles”, with Newcastle becoming “less dynamic” this season as a result of both options being regularly chosen as limited-over full-backs.

Howe will be praying that he can soon call upon Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall in those problem areas, with Hall returning to the substitutes’ bench against the Hammers, after a lengthy injury spell.

Kieran Trippier could also be available again for Ernesto Valverde’s men’s test on Wednesday evening, as Howe now attempts to put together a cohesive XI, which eliminates the possibility of Krafth and Burn lining up as a duo in a car crash.