It’s been a much more enjoyable experience watching Newcastle United in recent weeks with Steve Bruce’s side having won two of their previous three league matches and looking an all-round more competitive outfit.
Both victories came against tough opponents in the form of Southampton and Everton, yet, even in their one defeat in that sequence against Crystal Palace, the performance was much better and there was a sense that the result could have been different with a bit more fortune on the day.
The improvements seemed to start in their 2-1 defeat to Leeds United prior to this three-game sequence, where Newcastle looked more imposing and perhaps lay the foundations for what followed.
It’s not clear what is behind this recent upturn in form, some of it has been attributed to the impact of new coach Graeme Jones, whilst others are putting it down to an improved work rate and desire being displayed by the Newcastle players on the pitch.
In terms of the latter, there does seem to be some evidence supporting this theory.
For much of Bruce’s time in charge, Newcastle have usually ranked as one of the most passive sides in the Premier League.
This is because they usually deploy tactics which involve sitting in a deep compact block, letting their opponents have the ball and looking to restrict space inside their half. Chance creation predominantly then comes from counter-attacks or set-pieces.
The passiveness of Newcastle under Bruce is highlighted by a metric called by ‘passes allowed per defensive action’ (PPDA) which measures how aggressive a team look to press high up the pitch.
Last season, Newcastle had the most passive average in the league with 19.63. Their average this season has dropped further 20.31. However, some of this is most likely as a consequence of the gruelling fixture schedule with pressing averages across the league taking a notable hit this year.
Interestingly though, across three of their previous four matches, Newcastle’s PPDA for each fixture has fallen below their season average.
This means Bruce’s men seem to be pressing more aggressively and working harder to limit the time opposition players have in possession of the ball.
The increase in pressing does seem to tie in with some much-improved performances on the pitch, and as a result, may be a tactic that Bruce continues to use, especially against teams of a similar ability.
