3 Positives and 3 Negatives to take from Newcastle 0 West Ham 2

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The Mag

·27 November 2024

3 Positives and 3 Negatives to take from Newcastle 0 West Ham 2

Monday night’s match ended Newcastle 0 West Ham 2.

Ahead of each match we ask one of our writers to come up with three positives and three negatives following the game.

OneFootball Videos

Plenty to talk about after this one…

On this occasion it is David Punton:

POSITIVES (not many) Come in number 9

It was good to see Callum Wilson back.

No idea how long he’ll manage to stay fit for, but if he gets a few games under his belt, then he will get goals.

On a bad night these were useful minutes for him.

On another night

If you want to clutch at straws it was a game where on another night we’d have won that, or at least taken a point.

We had some chances, and probably should have had a penalty.

Wider context

It’s still early in the season and there is a long way to go.

We remain just one point from sixth place and we’ve seen dips before where Howe and the players have bounced back.

The Premier League is tough and we’re not quite as good as we’d like. We’re a few players short.

NEGATIVES

Myriad of problems

On a bad night not much went well tactically and some players had bad games.

Isak and Gordon were poor. Joelinton can’t be deployed down the right hand side. Barnes didn’t have an impact.

Why the switch to 4-4-2?

Why can’t we see off teams who sit back against us. That’s a big issue for the manager to work on.

Kelly doesn’t look the answer at centre half either and Schar was way off.

Mentality issue?

What the hell happened in the second half? We went to pieces.

At 0-2 we just couldn’t cope with the situation. There seemed panic.

We’ve now faltered against West Ham, Brighton, Everton, Fulham and Bournemouth.

Europe is a big ask unless we put away these sides. West Ham have been awful and their manager Lopetegui was apparently on the brink. We gave him an early Xmas present.

Why, whenever we have a home banker or a game to seize the initiative or build momentum, do we always seem to blow it?

We’re back to the drawing board, Eddie.

Post-match puzzle

The manager said he was pleased with the overall play in the first 60 minutes, yet we were trailing by two goals.

For the first time in a long while, I’m not sure I agreed with Howe’s assessment of how it went.

I still back him, 100%, but not sure I agree with his comments on Sky Sports.

And finally, on a separate point, Monday Night Football.

It’s not an excuse, but these Monday 8pm kick offs for Sky Sports have to be jettisoned. I am steadfast in the belief that had we played this at 3pm on Saturday. then we’d not have lost the game.

The international break came at the wrong time too. It feels like the two week break has disrupted the momentum that we had built up.

Newcastle 0 West Ham 2 – Monday 25 November 8pm

Goals:

Newcastle United:

West Ham:

Soucek 10, Wan-Bissaka 53

Possession was Newcastle 52% West Ham 48%

Total shots were Newcastle 18 West Ham 15

Shots on target were Newcastle 2 West Ham 6

Corners were Newcastle 8 West Ham 3

Touches in the box Newcastle 40 West Ham 17

Newcastle United team v West Ham

Pope; Livramento, Schar, Kelly, Hall; Longstaff (Tonali 57), Bruno (Trippier 84), Willock (Barnes 46), Gordon (Wilson 68), Isak, Joelinton (Murphy 69)

Unused Subs:

Targett, Dubravka, Almiron, Osula

(Toys out of the pram as usual – Embarrassing – Read HERE)

(We were the dominant team at half-time – Eddie Howe – Read HERE)

(Newcastle 0 West Ham 2 – Instant Newcastle United fan/writer reaction – Read HERE)

(Newcastle 0 West Ham 2 – An international break when we were building momentum didn’t help but… Read HERE)

Newcastle United upcoming matches confirmed to end of January 2025:

Saturday 30 November – Crystal Palace v Newcastle (3pm)

Wednesday 4 December – Newcastle v Liverpool (7.30pm) Amazon

Saturday 7 December – Brentford v Newcastle (3pm)

Saturday 14 December – Newcastle v Leicester (3pm)

Wednesday 18 December – Newcastle v Brentford (7.45pm) Sky Sports+ (Carabao Cup)