Newcastle’s away style continues to contradict St James’ intensity in Bruce-like Bournemouth loss

Newcastle United’s form away from home is a major concern for Eddie Howe, who had a miserable return to Bournemouth on Saturday evening.

The Magpies have now succumbed to as many away defeats in the Premier League this season as they managed in the entire 2022/23 campaign. It is a worrying downgrade to their performances at St James’ Park, where they frequently blow teams away, looking like a prime Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp at times. On the road, they are more reminiscent of Steve Bruce’s Newcastle United.

The stark contrast in home and away styles is not becoming a worry for Howe, it is a fully formed worry. But when it goes right for them on the road, boy does it go right.

Their only away wins all season came emphatically at Old Trafford in the cup and Bramall Lane in the league, suffering defeats at Brighton and Manchester City, and drawing at West Ham and Wolves, all while failing to score abroad in the Champions League, losing 2-0 in Dortmund and admirably drawing 0-0 at the San Siro.

Of course, Howe is dealing with a boatload of injuries and has even more to deal with after a torrid return to his former club. Miguel Almiron was forced off in the first half and Sean Longstaff looked to be in a serious amount of pain before seeing out the match.

With Sven Botman, Dan Burn, Callum Wilson, Jacob Murphy, Alexander Isak, Harvey Barnes, Elliot Anderson, and Matt Target all injured, the international break will hopefully be timely for the Magpies, even if no team wants to enter one on the back of a defeat.

At St James’ Park, Newcastle will press you off the pitch, take the game to you, look to initiate control on the ball, and pretty much suffocate you. On their travels, they play more conservatively, do not press with much conviction, and do not create enough chances. They are a shade of the team we have enjoyed watching under Howe.

Saturday’s clash on the south coast was obviously no exception and while it certainly would have contributed to the poor performance, the fact they played in Germany during the week is not the main reason why they lost.

Bournemouth started well, forcing Nick Pope in to two uncomfortable saves in the opening two minutes. They continued to push for the goal that just would not come in the opening half.

Saying Newcastle were flat would be a compliment to them. They had one good chance from a set-piece in the first half, which is again how they nearly opened the scoring in the second 45 minutes.

That bit of individual talent they needed from Kieran Trippier almost caught out Neto in the Cherries goal, and after the ball flirted with going over the line, the hosts got rid, stopping the visitors from getting an undeserved lead, and one that would epitomise life under Andoni Iraola on the south coast.

The breakthrough eventually came on the hour mark. Dominic Solanke – Howe’s third-most expensive signing as Bournemouth boss – latched on to a stray tackle from Joe Willock that perfectly put him through on goal, smashing the ball past Pope – who was Newcastle’s player of the match, which tells you everything you need to know about how they played – at the front post.

Bournemouth knew Newcastle were there for the taking and instead of resting on the lead to try and claim the points they desperately need, they kept going at the Magpies’ and got their reward for doing so. Solanke improvised to cheekily flick the ball beyond Pope inside the six-yard box, making it 2-0.

Dominic Solanke scores his second goal for Bournemouth against Newcastle

Even when two goals up, Iraola’s men kept going and going. It should have been four or five in truth on what was hands down their best performance under the Spanish head coach.

Victory for the Cherries lifts them out of the bottom three, leaving the three promoted clubs in the relegation zone. It also leaves Newcastle with three away defeats in the Premier League this season, meaning they have already lost as many times on the road as they did last term.

Howe is going to have to sit down and work out where it is going wrong for him and his players on the road. They need more urgency, that’s for sure. Judging by their recent performances, it’s not going to be a quick fix.

Newcastle might have been bad, but let’s not take anything away from Bournemouth, who made it back-to-back wins at the Vitality Stadium and proved patience is in fact a virtue.

Other owners would have said it wasn’t working under Iraola, but they stuck with the Premier League rookie. The Cherries started the season pitifully but are beginning to show they have what it takes to distance themselves from the pitiful promoted trio.

While the international break has come at a good time for a tired-looking Newcastle team, who desperately need to find an away-day formula, it is badly timed for Bournemouth, who created chances at free will against a team who were known for being very impressive defensively not so long ago.

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