Alan Shearer has bemoaned the lack of energy in Newcastle United’s recent performances after Eddie Howe’s side slipped into the bottom half of the Premier League table.
Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at in-form Chelsea means the Magpies have now failed to win in any of their last five league fixtures and have not collected three points since a stunning strike from Harvey Barnes helped his side to a 2-1 win at Wolves in the middle of September. With a home game against title contenders Arsenal and a challenging away day at a Nottingham Forest side that have lost just once this season on the agenda for the next fortnight, Newcastle face a major test to turn around their form ahead of next month’s international break.
Shearer assessed the current state of Howe’s side following Sunday’s defeat at Stamford Bridge and stressed the qualities that helped the Magpies qualify for the Champions League in their first full season under the former Bournemouth manager have been severely lacking during the current campaign.
He told The Rest is Football podcast: “I look at Newcastle, I think, okay, what got them to where they were in terms of Champions League? It was their high press, it was their energy, it was their goals, it was how mean they were, how nasty they were. (I am) not seeing too much of that, certainly not enough, but nowhere near enough of it this season – and they’ve got a tough run now. They’ve got Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, and then they’ve got Arsenal at home next Saturday. So it’s tough times for them at the minute.”
Shearer also pointed to Newcastle’s ‘terrible defending’ during Sunday’s defeat at Chelsea as the Magpies were punished by goals from Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer – despite conceding the latter of the Blues duo was the big difference between the two sides.
He told The Rest is Football podcast: “I look at Newcastle, I think, okay, what got them to where they were in terms of Champions League? It was their high press, it was their energy, it was their goals, it was how mean they were, how nasty they were. (I am) not seeing too much of that, certainly not enough, but nowhere near enough of it this season – and they’ve got a tough run now. They’ve got Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, and then they’ve got Arsenal at home next Saturday. So it’s tough times for them at the minute.”
Shearer also pointed to Newcastle’s ‘terrible defending’ during Sunday’s defeat at Chelsea as the Magpies were punished by goals from Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer – despite conceding the latter of the Blues duo was the big difference between the two sides.
