Howe's Newcastle lose their edge, and pile up 15 league defeats

Newcastle United no longer look like the side that once unsettled Arsenal in north London. They have lost 15 Premier League games this season, and only the bottom four have suffered more, a blunt measure of how far Eddie Howe’s team have drifted from the combative edge that once defined them.

That sharpness was on display in January 2023 at Emirates Stadium, when a goalless draw felt like progress internally because Newcastle refused to roll over. Jamaal Lascelles was booked late on for obstructing an Arsenal throw-in, Howe crossed the touchline line with Mikel Arteta after the Arsenal manager repeatedly complained to the fourth official, and a few days later Howe made the point plain: “We're not here to be popular and get other teams to like us - we're here to compete.”

The problem now is not merely results, but the way Newcastle are losing them. They arrived into this latest stretch with striking wins over Manchester United, away at Chelsea and a near-miss against Barcelona at St James' Park, yet the follow-up has been a sequence of damaging defeats that exposed how fragile they have become. Against Bournemouth last week, William Osula’s equaliser midway through the second half should have shifted momentum. Instead, Newcastle conceded again in the 85th minute, when Adrien Truffert drifted into the box undetected and finished off a move that summed up their defensive slackness.

That goal also fitted a wider pattern. Newcastle have conceded the most goals after the 75th minute in the Premier League this season, 19 in total, and the final stages have become a recurring indictment of their concentration and intensity. The sight of multiple players jogging back as Truffert advanced, followed by bowed heads after the goal went in, said as much about mentality as tactics. Kieran Trippier was one of the few who visibly reacted, and the veteran full-back then grabbed the ball and urged his team-mates forward.

Trippier will leave at the end of the season, and Howe’s future is under increasing scrutiny as Newcastle languish in 14th. The club are expected to review the manager’s position at the end of the season, with chief executive David Hopkinson and director of football Ross Wilson set to oversee that assessment. Howe still commands respect in the building, but the evidence on the pitch is hard to ignore: Newcastle have become easier to play against, and far easier to beat.