Eddie Howe reacts to 8-0 thrashing in Melbourne | OneFootball

This eight goal friendly ended A-League All Stars 8 Newcastle 0, Eddie Howe talking after the game.

This match followed on less than 48 hours later after the win over Tottenham on Wednesday.

A very young Newcastle United reserve side hammered, none of the starting eleven having previously started a Premier League match. The 10 outfield players with an average age of 19.

As well as the jet lag and time spent travelling, the fact is that the kick-off schedule in recent days has been (all UK timing):

4pm Sunday 19 May – Brentford v Newcastle (West London)

10.45am Wednesday 22 May – Tottenham v Newcastle

8.05am Friday 2 May – A-League All Stars v Newcastle

Eddie Howe with a duty to look after the welfare of his players, as he explains below.

I think questions should be asked of the Newcastle United hierarchy, CEO Darren Eales and the NUFC directors, as clearly this was not Eddie Howe’s decision to agree to this schedule of matches so close together.

Eddie Howe speaking to Network 10 after the A-League All Stars had hammered a very young Newcastle United reserve side 8-0 – Friday 24 May 2024:

“I don’t think we could have played them (Newcastle United’s first team players.

“When you combine the travelling time that we have had and the quick time between the games, I think it would have been too big a risk of injuries.

“We couldn’t afford that.

“So, we gave an opportunity to the younger lads.

“They found it tough today.

“A tough one for our young lads.

“Still a great experience and I think so much for them to take from it.

“However, I think you could see the gap between experience and youth there.

Newcastle were repeatedly exposed attempting to play the ball out from deep in defence against a hungry All Stars side.

Howe said although it was important his team didn’t stray from the game plan, the execution of their build-up play had to be better against a team that refused to give Newcastle an inch at Marvel Stadium.

“There were too many mistakes forced by the All Stars, who I thought played very well.

“It was a good performance from them but for us, I think a lot of the players individually need to reflect on that, see what they need to do to come back stronger.”

Final scoreline: