My heartfelt apologies in advance – I regret to inform the media of the use of FACTS | OneFootball

What’s that they say about the media?

Oh yes, never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

That story at the moment appears to be negativity regarding anything and everything to do with Newcastle United.

I won’t bother addressing all the off the pitch nonsense here.

Instead, I want to concentrate on what I am seeing in the media about Newcastle United on the pitch.

If you are somebody who never watches Newcastle United play, in the flesh and/or on TV, somebody who just relies on what the media tells you. Then I am pretty sure what you will be thinking.

That is, Newcastle United have been pretty abysmal and carried incredible luck, game after game.

This was yet again the case with Sunday at Wolves, any praise whatsoever for Newcastle United’s win, was all but non-existent.

From what I have read in the media, you would think Newcastle United had been under siege for almost the entire match and then got up the pitch a couple of times late on and did a Houdini act with a couple of long range potshots.

As an antidote to this media coverage, I wanted to have a look at the three Newcastle United away matches this season, to see if the FACTS actually backed up how the media are reporting things (all stats via BBC Sport):

Bournemouth 1 Newcastle 1

Possession: Bournemouth 39% Newcastle 61%

Shots: Bournemouth 16 Newcastle 14

Shots on target: Bournemouth 4 Newcastle 5

Corners: Bournemouth 8 Newcastle 9

Touches in opposition box: Bournemouth 27 Newcastle 32

Forest 1 Newcastle 1 (Newcastle United win on penalties)

Possession: Forest 41% Newcastle 58%

Shots: Forest 12 Newcastle 14

Shots on target: Forest 3 Newcastle 7

Corners: Forest 3 Newcastle 5

Touches in opposition box: Forest 19 Newcastle 19

Wolves 1 Newcastle 2

Possession: Wolves 49% Newcastle 51%

Shots: Wolves 12 Newcastle 14

Shots on target: Wolves 5 Newcastle 6

Corners: Wolves 4 Newcastle 7

Touches in opposition box: Wolves 27 Newcastle 23

Conclusions:

Taking these this trio of Newcastle United away matches.

In all three of them, Newcastle United have had more possession, more shots on targets and more corners.

I simply don’t think the media reporting has accurately reflected what has happened in these Newcastle United away games.

Indeed, if you take all 18 statistics (including the final results of the matches) across the three away matches, only two of the eighteen stats are in favour of the opposition.

Bournemouth had two more shots (16 v 14) than Newcastle United, though Eddie Howe’s side did still have more on target (6 v 5) in that match.

Then Wolves had five more touches (32 v 27) in the opposition box than Newcastle, though Eddie Howe’s team still had superior stats in every other area than Wolves.

I am not trying to make out that Newcastle United have been great on the road this season but they have been far from terrible.

Indeed you expect the vast majority of times the home teams to be more dominant across the stats than away sides, yet it is Newcastle United who have been more dominant in all three of these away matches.

In all three away matches Newcastle United have started well, been by far the better team, then faded in the middle part of games, before then coming back in the final 25 minutes or so to be the superior team yet again.

From what I see in the media, there seems to be a fixation on what has happened in the middle of these three Newcastle United away games, to pretty much the entire exclusion of how United have started and finished the three games.