Newcastle United 2-3 Everton
For the second home game running, the St James’ Park soundtrack was BOOS. For the second time running, Eddie Howe was left answering questions about a side that keeps fighting back, then immediately crumbling .
Five defeats in six league games. Thirteenth in the table. European qualification via the Premier League looking like a distant dream . The fortress that was St James’? Breached five times this season, with only Wolves and West Ham conceding more home goals .
This is new territory for the Howe era. And it’s getting uncomfortable.
THE EVERTON POST MORTEM
Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Everton summed up Newcastle’s season in 90 minutes. Fight back to level? Done it twice. Concede again within two minutes? Done that twice too. The last one, from Beto, sealed another defeat and another afternoon of agony on Tyneside .
“In relation to the Premier League, our form has not been good enough for a while,” Howe admitted afterwards, blunt as ever. “We know that. We take responsibility for that. It’s been really frustrating for us.”
After the Brentford defeat a few weeks back, he’d confessed he was “not doing my job well enough at the moment.” The honesty is admirable. The results aren’t.
THE CRUEL TRUTH
Here’s the brutal thing about modern football, Howe is under pressure DESPITE delivering finishes of fourth, seventh and fifth, two Champions League campaigns, and the club’s first domestic trophy in 70 years .
But this season has been a different beast. The Alexander Isak transfer saga dragged through the entire summer, unsettling everyone. Multiple striker targets said no thanks before joining elsewhere including Benjamin Sesko, who faces them tonight for Manchester United .
Those who did arrive? Mixed bag at best. Malick Thiaw for £30m from AC Milan? Unqualified success. Jacob Ramsey for £40m? Struggled with fitness and form. Anthony Elanga for £55m? Huge disappointment .
Yoanne Wissa, £50m from Brentford, missed the start of the season and has three goals. Nick Woltemade, £73m from Stuttgart, scored in four straight games early on and exactly once since December 20 .
SHEARER’S VERDICT
Club legend Alan Shearer didn’t hold back on Match of the Day. Woltemade’s performances were “nowhere near good enough” no goals, no assists, no shots, no touches in the opposition box over his last two games .
“There’s no doubt that it’s a conundrum for Howe as to where and how he gets the best out of him,” Shearer added. “There is a player in there, but he’s a player who is really, really struggling.”
Woltemade’s a doubt for tonight through illness. Might be a blessing.
THE FIXTURE NIGHTMARE
Starting tonight: Manchester United at home. Then Manchester City away in the FA Cup on Saturday. Barcelona twice in the Champions League. Chelsea. Local rivals Sunderland .
It’s relentless. It’s brutal. And it’ll define the season.
“If you said this four years ago, these are going to be your next run of fixtures in the Champions League, in the FA Cup, you’d have bitten whatever off to be in that position,” Howe said in Tuesday’s press conference.
He’s not wrong. This is what the club dreamed of. But dreams can quickly turn into nightmares when you’re losing at home to Everton.
THE UNITED FACTOR
Michael Carrick brings his in form Manchester United to St James’ tonight. The Newcastle born interim boss has won SIX of seven games since taking over, lifting the Red Devils to third .
They’ve got Benjamin Sesko, the £73m man who chose United over Newcastle. They’ve got momentum, confidence, and a manager playing for the full time job.
Newcastle have got pressure, questions, and a crowd that’s starting to lose patience.
CAN HE TURN IT AROUND?
Howe’s message is positive: “We have to be positive, try to relish the games, can’t play with fear, need to go and attack… and be as positive as we can.”
The cup runs are still alive. The Champions League last 16 tie with Barcelona is genuinely exciting. The FA Cup could still go somewhere.
But the league form is toxic. And if it doesn’t improve soon, those questions won’t just be from a minority of fans. They’ll be from the top.
Howe’s taken Newcastle further than anyone imagined. The question now is whether he can stop the slide before it’s too late.
