Is Howe’s high-intensity pressing philosophy the problem?
Newcastle were excellent for an hour against Milan on Wednesday but ended up losing 2-1 and dropping out of Europe at the end of a night when continued Champions League involvement had seemed well within their grasp. The problem was that, not for the first time in recent weeks, a side missing a starting XI of injured senior players simply could not sustain Eddie Howe’s hallmark, exhaustingly high-tempo, heavy-metal high-pressing game. Is a change, or at least a modification, of style required? No one can question the team’s often awe-inspiring commitment but human beings, even Joelinton, cannot run through brick walls. An energy-conserving Plan B, perhaps involving a cagier counterattacking plan, seems called for. After all, the very best sides all know how to slow games down and take control of midfield at the right moments. Otherwise burnout, mental as well as physical, surely beckons. Bad luck, along with the pressures of juggling the Premier League with a European campaign, have clearly played a big part in Howe’s casualty list but has the manager’s “intensity is our identity” motto been taken to extremes? Is it time for the medical and sports science departments to review training methods and rehabilitation protocols?
Should Tuesday’s Carabao Cup quarter-final at Chelsea remain a priority?
Repeated Champions League involvement and a lasting place on the European map represent the principal ambition of Newcastle’s majority Saudi Arabian owners but they would also rather like Howe to choreograph the club’s first collection of a major trophy since the Fairs Cup in 1969. The Carabao Cup offers a feasible route but the team’s league form dipped and focus slipped, albeit temporarily, in the preamble to their defeat by Manchester United in last season’s final. With vital Premier League games at Liverpool and Aston Villa as well as at home to Manchester City looming large on a January fixture list also featuring an FA Cup third-round trip to Sunderland, would a two-leg semi-final next month be a field too far for Howe’s players? His selection at Stamford Bridge will be intriguing and could be informed by Newcastle’s performance against Fulham on Tyneside on Saturday. After successive defeats – against Everton, Spurs and Milan – a fourth straight reverse would not be well received in Riyadh but, as Howe has emphasised, confidence remains “a fragile” footballing commodity.
Where should a limited January budget be invested?
Participation in the last 16 of the Champions League would have earned Newcastle a minimum of £10m and perhaps as much as £15m. Had they won the Europa League, £20m would have headed into the St James’ Park coffers. The Saudis may be extraordinarily wealthy but financial fair play regulations dictate they cannot splash as much cash as they might like on Howe’s squad next month. As Dan Ashworth, the sporting director, recently put it: “There’s a little bit of flexibility in the budget for January but we will need to be quite creative. We don’t envisage large numbers of players coming in.” Much depends on whether the influential left-sided centre-half Sven Botman requires knee surgery or can shortly return to first-team action for the first time since September. With Nick Pope sidelined for a least four months and Howe’s No 2 goalkeeper, Martin Dubravka, having conceded nine goals in three games a move for another keeper – Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris on loan, anyone? – seems feasible. Given Sandro Tonali’s 10-month suspension for contravening betting rules, a loan move for Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips has been mooted but is increased central attacking competition and/or cover for Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak a greater priority than reinforcing midfield right now? Dilemmas, dilemmas.
Does Howe need to embrace his inner pragmatist?
Newcastle’s manager says he “refuses to apologise” for pursuing the win against Milan that promised to keep his team in the Champions League rather than attempting to hold on for the draw that would have guaranteed a Europa League place in the new year. Howe appeared defiantly proud to “take ownership” of an “all-or-nothing policy” involving one of his centre-halves, Fabian Schär, throwing himself into attack after Milan drew level, but he also admitted “the players are out on their feet”. Sometimes compromise and pragmatism constitute the most sensible policy. As Rafael Leão, Milan’s gifted Portugal winger, repeatedly unhinged Newcastle on the counterattack before Samuel Chukwueze’s late winner it was all too easy to remember that when Howe strode into San Siro for the opening Group F game in September he was attending a live Champions League game for the first time. His team earned a creditable point that evening in Milan and would proceed to thrash Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 at St James’ Park the following month but, ultimately, a touch of managerial naivety arguably explains why Newcastle fans are packing their passports away for the remainder of the season. During his tenure at St James’ Park Sir Bobby Robson often used to talk about life, and football, being all about shades of grey. Perhaps the workaholic, ultra-intense Howe should have been content to settle for the fun of the Europa League’s lesser-travelled roads. Maybe it’s time for Newcastle’s manager to take time out to smell the roses and relax a bit more. He and his players don’t always have to do everything at 100mph.
