Goalposts keep moving to try and dilute Newcastle United positivity

There has been a recurring theme with Newcastle United this season.

Time after time I have seen it happen.

In the lead up to the Manchester City home match for example, all I heard from the journalist, pundits and other ‘experts’, was how Pep Guardiola’s side were going to steamroller Newcastle United.

How Manchester City were getting back into that near invincible form, having won 11 of their last 14 matches and only lost one of them.

How it was impossible to think that United could deal with Erling Haaland, the scorer of 32 goals in 20 games for club and country so far this season, ahead of playing at St James’ Park.

After that match, most of what I heard was how Manchester City hadn’t really turned up, they’d played well under par, whilst Erling Haaland had experienced an inexplicable off day.

Hmmm, nothing then to do with the fact that Newcastle United had been excellent, Eddie Howe with the perfect game plan that minimised Man City’s goal threat, whilst at the same time seeing United create loads of excellent chances at the other end.

As for Haaland? The Newcastle United defence excellent in dealing with him and Malick Thiaw in particular was outstanding. These were the reasons why the best striker in the world and his team had an ‘off day’ perhaps???

Win 4-0 away in the Champions League?

Only a Belgian pub team apparently. Despite Union S-G having an impressive record in Europe in recent years, their many wins including one against Liverpool, whilst this season they have won two of their other four Champions League matches, 3-1 away at PSV Eindhoven (who hammered Liverpol 4-1 at Anfield) and 1-0 away at Galatasaray. Plus Union S-G now four points clear at the top of that Belgian pub league…

Surely you have to give a lot of credit to Eddie Howe and Newcastle United for many of these ten wins so far this season? You can’t keep moving those goalposts after the fact (match).

Ahead of last weekend I kept reading about how this is Everton now reborn under David Moyes and on the rise. How they had played so brilliantly when winning at Old Trafford with ten men on the Monday and now with a home victory over Newcastle United they could be top six after the weekend, heading towards top four.

Newcastle United 3-0 up at half-time, they smash Everton 4-1, it could easily have been six or seven.

Those goalposts moving again, as we heard about this was overwhelmingly to do with Everton failings, how that pre-match huge positivity had been a misplaced fantasy.

A couple of real killer stats for you, following that Everton 1 Newcastle 4 match.

It was over two and a half years since Everton had conceded 4+ goals in a Premier League home game.

That last occasion was back in April 2023.

The scoreline back in April 2023? Everton 1 Newcastle 4.

As for Newcastle United blowing Everton away in the first half, leading 3-0 at the break.

The last time Everton had been three goals behind at half-time in a home Premier League game? It was more than seven and a half years ago, against Manchester City in March 2018.

Nobody pretends this has been a perfect opening twenty games for Newcastle United, with ten wins, three draws and seven defeats.

However, credit where credit is due.

Scoring 30 goals in the last 14 games shows Newcastle United getting closer to where they want to be in terms of attacking threat, whilst nine clean sheets so far this season suggests that the basis is there to reach really good levels in that respect.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with fair scrutiny when things have gone wrong this season, but at the same time, Newcastle United should get the full and proper credit when they do get it right.