Newcastle United is experiencing a costly lesson about what to do to compete on many domestic fronts, while still maintaining their ability to compete in the UEFA Champions League.
Their form is plummeting when they have only won 1 in the last 7 matches. Newcastle is currently struggling in the mid-table of the Premier League - clearly not the position they expected - and is being widened the gap by the top 5 to 7 points.
Everything is predicted to be even more difficult as a dense schedule is waiting ahead, with 6 matches in 17 days. After welcoming Brentford this weekend, Newcastle will successively play away at Tottenham's stadium, then face Aston Villa in the FA Cup. Interspersed with a long trip to Baku to meet Qarabag, and a away match against Manchester City in the Premier League.
It can be said that the "Magpies" are entering a breathtaking period lasting 45 days with a total of 14 matches, and signs of fatigue have begun to become apparent.
Coach Eddie Howe tried to avoid talking too much about this issue because he was worried about affecting the players' psychology, but clearly he was not satisfied after the defeat in the Carabao Cup semi-final against Man City. Howe rarely criticized his players publicly, but this time he emphasized that Newcastle cannot be proud just because of "good defense organization", especially when the match is almost decided after only 10 minutes.
Howe's request for the team to push high and play fiercely may be a mandatory choice in a cup match. However, the general feeling is that he does not have enough suitable personnel - and also does not have enough physical foundation - to turn that plan into reality.
The Newcastle captain also mentioned the important task in the coming period is to protect the confidence of the players. This view is even more noteworthy when looking at the early match opportunities that Joe Willock and Anthony Gordon created but did not take advantage of, completely opposite to the coldness of Omar Marmoush on Man City's side.
If Newcastle beats Brentford this weekend, it will be a huge morale boost. But the dense schedule is still there, and they have to find ways to rotate to avoid "breaking" their fitness.
One point that makes the picture more gloomy is that last summer's rookie group integrated slowly. In addition to Malick Thiaw being considered relatively successful, the remaining 4 contracts - Nick Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey and Anthony Elanga - have a total cost of up to 220 million pounds, but contributions are not commensurate.
However, Elanga's goal in the middle of the week, also his first goal since moving from Nottingham Forest for £55 million, more or less ignited hope that brighter days may be coming.
Howe admitted that if Newcastle wants to regularly play football in Europe and maintain a high level each season, they must regularly win tickets to the Champions League. And more importantly, they must learn to live with that harsh pace of competition.
