A lot can change in 538 days. That Eddie Howe admitted Newcastle United's 1-1 draw against West Ham 'felt like a defeat' on Saturday shows you how far the Magpies have come since the sides last met at St James' Park. Newcastle actually lost the game that day after the hosts were thumped 4-2 by the Hammers in their opening fixture of the previous campaign.
It proved to be one of Steve Bruce's final home matches in charge on an afternoon where Freddie Woodman started in goal and Newcastle's back five was made up of Emil Krafth, Federico Fernandez and Ciaran Clark, and converted wingers in Jacob Murphy and Matt Ritchie. Newcastle twice led that day yet, tellingly, conspired to lose the game, with Callum Wilson even going on to brutally admit his side were 'not fit enough'.
Bruce, who was already concerned by Newcastle conceding 'far too many' goals, spoke about how the black-and-whites 'didn't defend well enough' and gave the ball away in 'cheap areas'.
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"We didn't even give ourselves a chance because we have been done on the counter-attack chasing the game and that's what happens at this level," he said. "Once we chase it and leave ourselves open and exposed, then, it becomes very difficult for us."
It became a recurring theme and this was a nightmare Newcastle did not recover from under Bruce during a run where the black-and-whites let in 19 goals in their opening eight league games of the season before the former Manchester United captain was sacked by the new owners. The issue was so deep-rooted that it is worth noting that Newcastle even conceded 17 goals in Howe's opening seven fixtures before they finally started to tighten up.
This is an area where the owners' investment has made a real difference and Newcastle have recruited smartly. For an estimated £67m - less than what Chelsea paid for one defender, Wesley Fofana, last summer - Newcastle's backline has been transformed with the additions of goalkeeper Nick Pope and defenders Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn and Sven Botman in the last 12 months.
Coupled with the work of Howe and his staff on the training pitch - centre-back Fabian Schar, for one, has looked reborn - Newcastle have the best defence in the Premier League. Newcastle have conceded fewer goals (12) than any other team in the top-flight and also kept more clean sheets (12) than their rivals as a side who defend from the front with players who all know their jobs out of possession.
That defensive solidity has been at the heart of Newcastle's rise to fourth place in the table and is one of the main reasons why Howe's team have only lost one top-flight fixture so far this season. That is why the manner of the goal Newcastle conceded against West Ham on Saturday came as a shock.
It is so rare Newcastle let one in these days - let alone a goal as soft as Lucas Paqueta's equaliser after the unmarked West Ham midfielder fired home at the back post from a corner. Remarkably, it was the first goal Nick Pope had conceded in nine-and-a-half hours of Premier League action.
However, rather than capitulating, or becoming imbalanced in trying to find a winner like they did in the corresponding fixture last season, Newcastle still took something from the game when that might not even have been the case once upon a time. That was a response that encouraged Howe on a night where Callum Wilson had two big chances to win it for the hosts after Paqueta's equaliser.
"If you can’t win, you don’t lose and we’ve done that very well," Howe told reporters. "We’ve picked up vital points in this run.
"Yes, we haven’t won the games in the last few that we would have liked, but it’s never going to be plain sailing. We were never going to win every game.
"It’s such a competitive league – the games are so difficult. West Ham came today fighting at the other end of the table, but they’ve got quality players. The margins between the top and bottom teams are so small.
"The chances were there for us to win - very similar to Crystal Palace - and I back the players that we have that if we continue to perform well, we will be on the right side of those margins."
It was Newcastle's fourth draw in their last five league games and this run brings back memories of a similar run at the start of the campaign. These are the matches you feel Howe's side will need to ultimately find a way to win to get into the Champions League. To do that, clearly, Newcastle need to sharpen up in the final third.
Newcastle have scored just two goals in the Premier League since running riot at Leicester City on Boxing Day in their first game back after the World Cup and having the added firepower of Anthony Gordon and the returning Alexander Isak may yet prove crucial to turning those draws into wins.
Following a heavy run of fixtures, Newcastle will have more time on the training pitches to work on that aspect of their game in the coming weeks. It could yet make the difference.
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