Harvey Barnes says ‘aggression’ missing, Tonali move backfires and Newcastle suffer Fulham taunts
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe came under fire from fans for not starting Sandro Tonali
Newcastle United suffered a painful defeat at the hands of Fulham to suffer their first loss since last spring in the Premier League.
But their next loss won’t be too far away unless they buck up their ideas in the Premier League because it felt like complacency was creeping in at Craven Cottage. There’s no doubt Newcastle players will be fired up by criticism that comes flying in their direction after this one.
Perhaps it is fortunate that Eddie Howe won’t have time for a full inquest this week because getting into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup is now the main aim. Here’s some of things we noted after the 3-1 loss at the hands of Marco Silva’s men.
READ MORE: Bruno Guimaraes’ apologises to fans as TV focuses on unimpressed Paul Mitchell in Newcastle defeat
READ MORE: ‘The worst’ – Eddie Howe makes Newcastle United admission as he explains 3-1 loss to Fulham
Harvey Barnes makes no excuses for poor display after being sent to face the TV cameras
Barnes was the only senior Newcastle star to face the media after the game with his second half goal at least offering hope of a comeback. But sadly it wasn’t to be and Newcastle lacked all of the things that have turned them into European contenders in the last few years.
After the game Barnes told BBC Match of the Day:”The basics weren’t there for us. Off the ball we were not as solid as we normally are and not as aggressive as we usually are on the ball. Our levels weren’t there.
“It wasn’t clicking for us. On the ball we weren’t good enough and off the ball, you can see with their goals, we weren’t at our level.”
Magpies suffer taunts from Fulham fans after first loss at Craven Cottage since 2016
More recently, Newcastle have picked up five wins in a row here in the Premier League and FA Cup and you’d need to go back to 2014 for Fulham’s last top-flight win. But from the first whistle it was the Cottagers who were in the faces of Newcastle.
It left Fulham fans delirious in the sunshine with chants of: “No noise from the Geordie boys” and “3-1 and a long way home.” Against a side that finished in the bottom half of the table last term, you expect better than this from Eddie Howe’s troops.
