Eddie Howe vowed to come back a better manager and the Newcastle United head coach's time out of the game helped him do just that. As well as visiting a number of sporting organisations, including Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, Liverpool, England and Saracens, Howe replayed every training session recorded during his time with Bournemouth in the top-flight to see what he could have done better.
It did not take Howe long to recognise that Bournemouth's defensive record 'wasn't very good'. The Cherries conceded a whopping 330 goals in their five seasons in the top-flight, after all, which worked out as an average of 66 per season.
Although Howe and his staff have not drastically changed their approach since then, there can be no doubt that they adapted when they took charge of a winless Newcastle side deep in trouble last November. Even Howe, himself, went on to admit that 'Newcastle cannot be Bournemouth'.
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Central to that survival mission was making Newcastle a nastier, more streetwise outfit who were difficult to beat. That took time - Newcastle leaked 17 goals in their opening seven games under Howe - but the Magpies soon became an effective side out of possession.
Newcastle have taken the next step on the ball this season thanks to that solid base. After conceding 80 goals in 2021, which is a Premier League record for all the wrong reasons, Newcastle now have the meanest defence in the top-flight after shipping just 10 goals. In fact, no other side in the division has kept more clean sheets (six). To put that turnaround into perspective, Newcastle had let in nearly three times as many goals (29) last season before Howe took charge.
This is where the owners' investment has clearly made a difference, but it is worth pointing out that Newcastle have recruited smartly in the space of just two windows when the Magpies could have easily got it wrong. Newcastle have signed a new goalkeeper in Nick Pope, a right-back in Kieran Trippier, a converted left-back in Dan Burn and a centre-back in Sven Botman for around £67m - less than the £80m Manchester United spent on one defender Harry Maguire in 2019 or the £70m Chelsea splashed out on centre-back Wesley Fofana last summer.
It is one thing finding these players; quite another turning them into a unit but that is exactly what Howe and his staff have done on the training pitches. It has been a long time since Newcastle's back four have been positioned this high up the pitch; the team, as a whole, are pressing from the front as a well-drilled side; and, to a man, the team defend as one because they all know their jobs.
Pope and his defenders have rightly received a lot of the credit for the turnaround, but the work rate, organisation and athleticism of the whole team has been crucial in protecting that backline. Yes, Pope has made some important saves, but the goalkeeper has 'only' had to make 37 stops in 13 games, which makes him just the 12th busiest shot-stopper in the Premier League. Over the years, predecessor Martin Dubravka was right at the top of that list.
It is not just the new recruits who have played their part, either. Fabian Schar, for example, went nearly two months without playing for Newcastle under Steve Bruce and interim boss Graeme Jones before the Switzerland international was immediately restored to the starting line-up by Howe for his first game in charge against Brentford last November.
Schar had missed Howe's first 10 days at the club because he was away on international duty, but the Newcastle boss had long been an admirer and trusted the centre-back to come in for that first game against Brentford. Schar has been an ever-present ever since and is another inherited player, like Joelinton and Miguel Almiron, who has played some of his best football for the club under the head coach.
"You see in the team what we are doing," Schar told ChronicleLive. "Obviously, the transition from the team and everyone is huge since they walked in. They changed everything. Just the feeling in the team, the mentality, is completely different and we're performing on the pitch now."
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