The limbo effect at Newcastle United - Key takeaways from 4-2 defeat at Brentford

Newcastle United fell to a damaging defeat on Saturday in a game you wish could’ve succumbed to the inclement weather of Storm Darragh. In what was a predictable outcome away from home, United played okay for 45 minutes before falling apart in the second half.

Goals from Alexander Isak and Harvey Barnes cancelled out strikes from Bryan Mbuemo and Yoan Wissa in the first half before two unanswered 2^nd half efforts from Neil Collins and Kevin Schade secured the win, and the points, for the Bees

Here are our key takeaways from the game:

1. Weird Team Sheet

So much about modern English football is secretive. Managers and coaches obfuscate with answers given in press conferences/post-match/pre-match because the margins between defeat and victory are miniscule, so much so, that when Bielsa sent a spy to watch Derby train, there was massive fallout despite the practise being commonplace in South America.

But why does it have to be this way? I guarantee that when the team was released on Saturday afternoon, the collective ‘huh’ from Tyneside could be heard on the Moon. Out went Tonali and Gordon and in came Barnes and Longstaff literally three days on from ‘perhaps’ the pairs best performances of the season.

And ‘perhaps’ therein lies the answer, they were probably rested for fitness/load managing reasons, and ‘perhaps’ this has all been instigated by James Bunce, but we just don’t know. Howe said in his pregame press conference that ‘there were some tired bodies’ after the draw with Liverpool, but it was ‘his job is to refuel the group and go again’.

More unnecessary generalities but with a full seven days rest between Brentford and Leicester, ‘perhaps’ someone should’ve reconsidered the sports scientist’s advice and started two of United’s better players as we’re not good enough for them to be sat on the bench.

2. Chaos

United were sloppy in the first half but scoring goals will cover for most deficiencies and Isak and Barnes took their chances well. Yet, after a decent opening 45 minutes, Newcastle fell to pieces in the second half and chaos ensued every time Howe made a substitution.

The gaffer is garnering an unwanted reputation for poor in game management within sections of the fanbase and Saturday highlighted this in high-def technicolour. First, Tonali and Gordon entering the pitch on the hour necessitated shifting Barnes out to the right side – which resulted in his total anonymity for 15 minutes before he was replaced by Almiron, who also looked like he didn’t understand the instructions he had been given, as he looked even more headless than usual.

Wilson also came on with Miggy on 73 minutes and the team looked to be playing in a ‘knockoff’ 4-2-3-1 but the spacing between players was all wrong with Wilson and Isak often occupying the same pockets of space, crowding each other out. It looked haphazard, poorly/barely trained and stunk of a manager desperately grasping for solutions and asking far too much from lads that have barely played this season.

Also, how can the ‘generational talent’ Lewis Miley not even make the bench?

3. The Limbo Effect

In the takeaways piece following the Liverpool game I wrote that that game had to be taken in isolation. I’d have much rather been proven wrong on Saturday, but the lads are not doing anything to dissuade an increasing section of fans that something is amiss at the club.

I think talk of downed tools and lost dressing rooms is premature but one thing that appears to be true from the outside looking in, is that there are members of the squad who are currently displaying poor attitudes. Body language was awful on Saturday and heads dropped far too quickly. The away end emptied early and there is a horrible sense that the post takeover project is close to collapse as so many aspects of the club seem to have been left in limbo.

That sense of limbo appears to have transferred onto the pitch as the players don’t seem to be able to lift themselves, especially with the coaching staff struggling to do the same. The often-overlooked human element to footballers comes into play and when signings are delayed or non-existent and huge club/culture shifting infrastructure projects, like the stadium and training ground, appear to be stalled or weirdly ignored those feelings must be felt by the players and staff too.

4. Signings must be made in January

Despite PSR concerns, and the noises coming out of the club seem to indicate this will again be an issue, signings must be made in January, as the squad has gone stale, and the season is in danger of being a write-off.

Fabian Schar has been an excellent, bargain signing for the club, but his performances aren’t helping with the calls of not ‘needing a CB in January’ – one simply must arrive, Guehi or otherwise.

The club must do everything in its power to make room for incomings, and if players must be sold, then so be it. There is merit in selling a player for £100m and refreshing and going again, although the blue-chip players in the squad are certainly not playing well enough to fetch that sort of fee at the moment. Brentford did it last year and are above us, Brighton do it every year and are above us and Fulham too - they sold Joao Palhinha to Bayern.

For me, everyone in that squad is sellable (except for Isak; strikers that good are irreplaceable) in the current climate. I appreciate that this sort of outlook upset the applecart in the summer, but I’ll simply refer you back to point one - there can be no secrets.

HWTL.