No one really knew what to expect from Newcastle at the start of the season. But it was certainly more than what they have delivered so far…
A flat, uninspiring draw – another one – with Bournemouth leaves the Magpies without a win in six games since the opening day of the season. Granted, Eddie Howe’s side lost only one of those matches, and that was last-gasp defeat to Liverpool at Anfield. But five draws in seven outings since beating Forest six weeks ago leaves Newcastle fans feeling short-changed on whatever their expectations might have been during what was billed as a transformational summer.
They, like the Newcastle fans, would reasonably have expected more for their money after sanctioning the fifth-highest net spend in Europe. Howe will counter that such investment was necessary; actually, more was needed to meet the owners’ aims as fast as they would wish.The failure to land another wide attacker is looking more costly with each passing draw than it would have been to pay over the odds for the players Howe and his staff wanted.
The Cherries were far more comfortable than they ought to have been upon their reunion with their former manager. Gary O’Neil’s side played Newcastle just like Palace did a fortnight ago, when some ridiculous officiating took the focus off another performance that lacked penetration and guile. This time, VAR came to Newcastle’s aid, which was fortunate since a set-piece seemed the only likely avenue to goal for the hosts.
When he sought to change things, Howe dispatched Sean Longstaff and Jacob Murphy from his bench. Neither will have struck fear into the Cherries. Nor would the sight of Chris Wood emerging on 89 minutes for final few of 32 crosses, 26 of which found a Bournemouth defender.
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