Eddie Howe may not have been too far wide of the mark when he claimed that Leicester City’s 4-0 win was not reflective of the match.
While the Magpies were well beaten by a devastating attacking performance, they spent plenty of time in the Foxes’ penalty area.
In fact, of the clubs outside of the Premier League’s so-called ‘Big Six’, only West Ham had more touches in their opponents’ 18-yard-box at the weekend, although they were also unable to score.
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As everyone knows, possession and the amount of time you spend in the penalty area is ultimately irrelevant if you are beaten by the other team but it shows the progress under Eddie Howe.
What it also shows is that current Newcastle defence is not of the quality to support the new head coach’s attacking philosophy.
Jamaal Lascelles’ performance on Sunday, in particular, highlighted the need to introduce defensive reinforcements in January as he was given a three in Lee Ryder’s player ratings, a mark that many fans felt was generous.
The majority of the touches inside the Leicester penalty area came when the Magpies were chasing the game. This allowed the hosts the opportunity to utilise the dynamism of James Maddison, Harvey Barnes and Patson Daka on the counter attack.
The trio of Leicester attackers were supported by the brilliant Youri Tielemans who had the freedom of the midfield on too many occasions in the second half.
His Newcastle counterparts were unable to really get near the Belgian after half-time and were far too weak in their attempts to combat his all-action performance.
It raises further questions of the Jonjo Shelvey-Joe Willock pivot which a number of supporters believes needs to be strengthened in January.
A lot of those same fans found Howe’s post-match comments overly positive considering the extent of the defeat but, on reflection, may be more open to what he had to say.
However, the issue of the below-par defence continues to rage on and until that is fixed, it is going to be increasingly difficult for the Magpies to ascend up the table.
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