Has Eddie Howe learnt these three harsh lessons this season?
Eddie Howe has faced a pretty ruthless few months at Newcastle United, overseeing an injury crisis, the fatigue issues that's had on his thin squad, along with exiting Europe altogether and Carabao Cup heartbreak away at Chelsea.
It's been a promising start to 2024 in patches. We've beaten Sunderland and Fulham to nil in the FA Cup, setting up a fifth-round trip to Blackburn, beat Aston Villa brilliantly last week and ran Man City close in a display of promise, but Saturday brought us back down to earth with a bump as we left St James' Park a little deflated following an entertaining yet chaotic 4-4 raw with Luton.
I have total faith in Howe, but he may have learnt a few lessons in recent months. Here's a few that come to mind:
Make substitutions sooner?
There's been a couple of occasions this season where he's taken too long to change it. Managers are often stubborn and like to give it time to show their initial selection was the right one, but it was clear for some time on Saturday (and in our 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest) that Dan Burn was getting nowhere near his man. I wonder how that game would have panned out over the weekend if Tino Livramento came on before the damage was done at 4-2?
Overly loyal?
Whether it's his loyalty to the likes of Dan Burn and reluctance to haul him off at the break or his reported approach to certain outgoings, I sometimes wonder if Howe needs to be slightly more ruthless.
Somehow, we've kept the likes of Matt Ritchie, Paul Dummett and Mark Gillespie at the club this season, also turning down Championship approaches for Dummett on deadline day. Their influence in the dressing room is clearly valued by Howe, but it's surely time for Livramento at left-back and a summer where several fringe men are finally moved on.
A sustainable style of play
There's no doubt our fitness levels have improved massively since Howe came in. We aren't referred to as 'Howe's high-intensity Mags' for no reasons, but it's sometimes felt like we've lacked a plan B when fatigue levels haven't allowed us to press from the front.
That's not to suggest we should be scrapping our plan A, as we are absolutely brilliant at our best, but there's been times this season where we've looked a little passive all over the pitch when we haven't had the energy to commit to that high press.
When fatigue kicks in - like we see at UK official cycling events or at the end of a marathon - you see all athlete's unable to perform at their best levels. It's not different in football and I sometimes wonder if our approach wasn't sustainable given the number of games, the injury crisis and the tiredness both factors caused.
