Heart over style

After what was a turbulent summer on Tyneside, this Newcastle United team has come through tricky waters to achieve a very commendable start to the season.

With the arrival of new Director of Football Paul Mitchell and Eddie Howe made favourite by the bookies to replace Gareth Southgate, it was a restless pre-season for the club.

With Newcastle missing out on Marc Guhei in the summer and Howe still very much the people’s choice for the England job, it felt this story was only going one way.

Luckily for everyone involved in the club, Howe conducts himself in a manner every employer would dream of. No public display of emotion, just purely answering every question with a professional response and the odd smile.

It’s fair to say Howe would make some poker player.

With talks reported to have taken place behind the scenes between Mitchell and Howe on how to work positively together moving forward, things have calmed down in the media.

Whilst on the pitch, Newcastle United looking to secure European football, as well as targeting the latter stages of the cup competitions.

Newcastle currently sit in 7th place as the clubs enter the second international break since the start of the Premier League campaign.

There are mixed emotions amongst the fanbase, as it’s been a very respectable start with three wins, three draws and only one loss in seven.

However, the issue raised has been the performance levels, with the team not displaying the same quality of football the spectators have seen over the last two years. Wins against Southampton, Spurs and Wolves could have easily swung in the other team’s favour and Newcastle have yet to really blow a team out of the water. There was even a mediocre performance against League Two side AFC Wimbledon, with the team stumbling over the line in the third round of Carabao Cup.

The best performance of the season has come against champions Manchester City at St. James’ Park, with an Anthony Gordon penalty securing a very good point.

Although performances have been questioned by those in the stands and in the media, desire and determination are characteristics that won’t be.

This current Newcastle United side has developed strong trust with the supporters, who know that no matter what, the workrate and effort will be there from kick off.

This is the minimum Eddie Howe guarantees, with his approach and expectations of his players.

The 2-1 victories over Spurs and Wolves demonstrated the grit and the fight in order to secure the three points on both occasions

It’s imperative Newcastle United keep this fighting spirit and build on the recent performances against Manchester City and Everton, where the football was far easier on the eye.

(Simon also has his very own blog which you can visit here)