Newcastle United's 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa marked a second successive loss, with the Magpies managing just one shot on target from centre-half Sven Botman. The result followed a 4-1 drubbing by newly promoted Coventry City, leaving the 'Newcastle United 2.0' project under head coach Matthias Jaissle looking far from an improvement.
Hopkinson's manifesto falls flat
Over the summer, club CEO David Hopkinson outlined his vision for the club under Jaissle, promising a team that is 'young, hungry, ambitious, relentless. They want to be here and they will fight for everything. This is exciting. This is transformational. This is intentional. Let’s go.'
However, the only thing that felt relentless about Saturday's performance was the charge towards another uninspiring defeat. With a tough trip to Crystal Palace next weekend, it has the potential to get worse before it gets better.
Systemic problems persist
Newcastle replaced the loss of four senior players in the summer with eight signings all aged 24 and under, but the same problems on the pitch persisted. A prominent former Newcastle player described the Magpies as being like a box of liquorice all sorts, in that you don't know what you're getting each time you watch them. Former United captain Michael Owen described them as unpredictable.
The pattern emerging in a damaging week is becoming all too predictable. Newcastle concede far too many chances, have no control in midfield, and have no cutting edge in the final third. It said it all when centre-half Dan Burn was brought on in stoppage time up front in a last desperate attempt to turn the tide against a Villa team that looked utterly untroubled.
Defensive and attacking woes
Burn's leadership has been sorely missed in a squad devoid of experience, and his solidity in the backline is also needed. Only Ipswich have conceded more goals this term, and across several defensive metrics, Newcastle rank in the bottom three. They are now without a clean sheet at St James' Park in 13 Premier League matches, their worst run since 1999.
Similarly, if they continue to waste chances in the manner they have done in the last two matches, they aren't going to score many goals. Jaissle is right to point out that his players need to make better decisions in both boxes and that individual errors are proving costly.
Identity crisis
Nine matches into the season, it is difficult to see what the identity of this Newcastle team is and what they are trying to do when they have the ball. The team set up does not match the personnel, and that is as much to do with recruitment as Jaissle's team selections.
The head coach feels his team have taken steps forward when it is not apparent to the eye where they have come. One fan jokingly waved the white flag in the Gallowgate End as his team hurtled towards another defeat. There has to be something for the supporters to get behind at Crystal Palace next weekend, or that could become a metaphor for a season that promised much is threatening to deliver little.
