How on earth did Newcastle lose to a team like Bournemouth after winning at Man U and Spurs? | OneFootball

So then… ‘How on earth did Newcastle lose to a team like Bournemouth after winning at Man U and Spurs?’

If you are still reading, beyond my suggested headline (which I am hoping The Mag have used), then thank you.

I will explain.

Losing to Bournemouth on Saturday was a punch to the gut.

Never easy to lose at home and of course you then look at the Premier League table (see below) on Sunday morning and everybody thinking ‘what if???’

A win yesterday would have seen United move third in the table ahead of Forest (who play today) on goal difference, as well as moving to within three points of second place Arsenal.

What might have been.

The reality of course was that almost as tough to take as the result, was the fact that Bournemouth deserved to win at St James’ Park, they played better than Newcastle United.

As it was a lunchtime kick-off, as usual, there was an awful lot of time to spend in the pub(s), too much time maybe, analysing what we had all just watched.

As usual, as the pints were chucked down, it was a mixture of good reasoned debate and increasingly drunken nonsense.

We wouldn’t have it any other way!

Amongst the nonsense side of things, some people in and around our group in the pubs would occasionally say something along the lines of ‘a team like Bournemouth’, in a disparaging way. Almost as though they were instead saying ‘Southampton’ or ‘Leicester’, or even ‘Bromley’, or even ‘Sunderland’!!!

People talking about ‘losing to a team like Bournemouth’, how can it happen when Newcastle United have been on such a fantastic run, including going to places like Manchester United and Spurs, where NUFC won AND were the better team in both games.

Here is that updated Premier League table, on this Sunday morning, I was talking about earlier.

That will answer the Bournemouth, Manchester United, Spurs question, or at least it should do!

‘A club/team like Bournemouth’ are a Premier League top six side.

Manchester United and Spurs are bottom of the eight Premier League sides.

That is the reality and it isn’t a blip, it isn’t a fluke.

This isn’t after a handful of games, it is with the majority of this season’s matches played, we are moving to a point of two thirds of the season gone.

I know we are all guilty of it to some extent, our football brains are all programmed to at least some extent, to still think of losing to the likes of Man U and Spurs, as something far less of a shock than losing to say, Bournemouth.

If you needed further proof, whilst Newcastle United have been on an incredible nine match winning run, which has included winning away at Man U and Spurs (and Arsenal!)…

Bournemouth are on an incredible run of their own, now 11 games unbeaten and having defeated amongst others in that run, the likes of Man U and Spurs (and Newcastle!). They actually could and should have won away at Chelsea as well in midweek, leading until the fifth minute of added time. When they conceded a poorly defended free-kick, where the goalkeeper conceded the goal in the corner he should have been protecting the most. Maybe if they had been able to play £71m keeper Kepa in that game, as they did at Newcastle, then they probably would have won. However, in these crazy days of what Chelsea are allowed to do financially… amongst many other beyond belief things, they have the most expensive keeper in world football out on loan at another Premier League club, Chelsea probably paying half his wages as well. However, I suppose they do still get some small advantage, as in the fact because Kepa couldn’t play against them, that almost certainly helped them avoid defeat on Tuesday with that soft late goal the Bournemouth replacement keeper should have saved.

Back to Man U and Spurs.

On 5 December 2024 in only the second match of this run of 11 undefeated, Bournemouth deservedly defeated Spurs 1-0. Checking on the BBC Sport stats, it was no fluke. Bournemouth had 21 v 12 advantage on overall shots, 8 v 4 when it came to efforts on target.

In the fifth match of their 11 games unbeaten, Bournemouth went to Old Trafford on 22 December 2024 and tore them apart. Away from home winning 3-0, Manchester United and their fans with the perfect early Xmas present!

Forget about their history, forget about their entire fanbase able to fit in a stadium the size of a bus stop.

Bournemouth are currently a Premier League top six side with a majority of the season played, just as Newcastle United are currently a Premier League top four side.

This was always going to be a potentially very tough game, against a well organised and set up team with some very dangerous players.

It was a match where Newcastle United, for whatever reasons, fell below their recent levels, whilst Bournemouth maintained theirs, potentially even raising them well above what they showed against Man U, Spurs and Chelsea during this run.

No shame in losing to Bournemouth, just a case of ‘dusting worselves doon’ (as somebody used to say…) and getting ourselves back up to the levels we have largely shown across the previous nine matches.