Long Reads
Author: Ciaran Donaghy - Senior Football Writer
From intensity to invisibility. This was a gutless, shapeless mess of a performance, and for the first time in four years, many are starting to wonder if the Howe era is beginning to unravel.
Newcastle United’s recent fine form will be put to the test in a key away fixture in the Premier League that may be trickier than it first appears.
Howe’s men will be hoping to bring the fluid, free-flowing, controlled football that has characterised recent appearances in the Champions League and Carabao Cup to the league and ignite what has felt like a rather sluggish start to the league.
Newcastle are built for this competition. They’ve not trailed in a single Carabao Cup game since the 2023 final defeat to Manchester United and now advance to the quarter-finals for the fourth consecutive season.
The Carabao Cup returns to St James’ Park under the lights on Wednesday night, and for Newcastle United it’s an early test of character.
Three points, yes. Satisfaction, no.
Newcastle United’s 2–1 win over Fulham was a reminder that results can deceive. Fulham were dreadful, offering next to nothing, yet Newcastle somehow contrived to make this a contest. Bruno Guimarães’ 90th-minute winner spared blushes, but for large spells this was a performance defined by sloppiness, poor decisions, and wasteful finishing.
Tuesday’s performance had everything that had been missing at Brighton, energy, control, belief and composure. Two words summed it up: maturity and intensity. Now comes the test of consistency. Fulham’s visit offers the chance to consolidate form and start climbing the league table before a tough November schedule.
This was Newcastle United at their most complete this season, mature in possession, intense in the press, and clinical when it mattered. A night that might just mark the moment the campaign turns.
The mood around St James’ Park has dipped after the Brighton mess, but European nights give this team a chance to put things right. Howe’s men return home needing a performance as much as a result, and after that shambles on the south coast, nothing less than three points will do.
On paper this one looked like a narrow defeat, but in reality we were never in it. Save for short spells in either half, Brighton were the dominant side and deserved the win. For Newcastle United, the lads need to quickly dust themselves down for a Champions League night under the lights against Jose Mourinho's Benfica as they travel to St James' Park on Tuesday.
There's narrative weight here: a ground we struggle at, a Brighton side trying to assert, and a Newcastle United trying to establish some momentum following a stuttering, stop-start early season run.