A lacklustre Newcastle United failed to pick up any points at home after succumbing to a tide of Bournemouth opportunities.
The St James’ Park faithful watched on as goals from Joshua King and Charlie Daniels, as well as an own-goal from Newcastle’s own Steven Taylor, put the Cherries out of the hosts’ reach. Ayoze Perez’s late consolation goal did very little to inspire his side.
Spectators would have been able to discern a noticeable difference in the levels of enthusiasm from each side as McClaren’s Newcastle struggled to keep up with the tempo of football Bournemouth were flaunting at times. The Newcastle coach himself condemning his side’s performance in a post-match statement.
“That [was] not good enough… We understand and fully take all the criticism that we’ll receive. I’m as frustrated, angry as the next person, as the supporters that were watching that,” he said.
The result means that Newcastle continue to linger in the thick of the relegation zone, a single point shy of 17th-placed Sunderland. Magpies fans will take a bit of comfort in the fact that they still have a game-in-hand on their direct relegation rivals.
However, following the result, it seems that Bournemouth are no longer one of those ‘relegation rivals’. Eddie Howe’s side moved 11 points clear of 18th place with the win over Newcastle. However, not surprisingly, Howe called for calm, insisting, “We’ve still got a lot of work to do… The games get bigger from our perspective, and we don’t want to let up until we know were safe.”
Bournemouth come out on top in six-pointer
Not only did Bournemouth claim a vital three points in their push for survival, but they took an opportunity at any points away from another relegation competitor, which in football lingo is considered a six-point game.
The modern Premier League is not so much competition between 20 different clubs as much as the playing out of two separate tiers of competition: title challengers and those who simply aim to survive. Bournemouth and Newcastle are, and have been for the entire season, participants in the survival tier.
The Newcastle coach acknowledged the predicament and further protested against his side’s performance when he said “we play like that, were not going to stay up” in a post-match press-conference.
Couldn't have said it any better. pic.twitter.com/6Jbiy5ZeFD
— NUFC Online (@NUFC_Online) March 5, 2016
Newcastle lacking aerial prowess
A manifestation of Newcastle’s lack of enthusiasm could be seen in the number of aerial bouts that were both contested and won (or lost). The game saw a total of 32 aerial contests take place, of which Newcastle only won a third (33%). Though they did not concede any goals from the air, they did however cough up vital spells of possession at important times, as well as failing to hinder Bournemouth’s adventurous build-up play.
After the game, McClaren struggled to address a direct reason for the loss, sticking to the blanket response of “bad football” on his team’s behalf.
“You look at the last six games we’ve had at home: Three wins, two draws and a last-minute defeat. To produce a performance like that, is baffling.”
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Howe sticking with 4-4-2
Having played the bulk of the season with a three-man midfield, Bournemouth manager Howe has found a late preference for the more traditional 4-4-2, opting to sacrifice a body in midfield in favour of fielding two strikers.
Howe’s decision on the day was no doubt made easier by the fitness shortcoming of Harry Arter, who was unable to recover from a knock he picked up midweek against Southampton.
In contrast with Howe’s shift in attacking dynamics, he can now boast having fielded the same back four for 15 games in a row, continuing to keep captain Tommy Elphick out of the starting lineup. This solidified back four sees Adam Smith push Simon Francis into the heart of the defence while Steve Cook and Charlie Daniels continue to lock down the left side.
“Very, very pleased with the players- we gave a good account of ourselves today. We moved the ball well, we passed the ball well and created a number of opportunities,” Howe said.
McClaren facing the sack?
As it is when any Premier League club is facing relegation, murmurs about the competency of the manager quickly become synchronised yelps. Sitting in 19th place and having put in such a dismal performance on the weekend, the odds of McClaren being allowed to see out the season become less and less.
When Howe was queried as to whether or not McClaren had his sympathy, Howe replied: “No, I’m not sure ‘sympathy’ is the right word, because Steve’s an outstanding coach, outstanding manager, he doesn’t need my thoughts expressed that way. But what I will say is I think he will, if given time, lead the club to better times.”
Former England coach, McClaren will not be comforted by the fact that Newcastle United have had a conveyor belt of managers over the past decade, with the club changing managers on 12 occasions since February 2006.
Reporter kicks off with steve mclaren. And fully deserved as well!! pic.twitter.com/KvVzESbbKN
— 🎩 (@NUFC_JAY17) March 5, 2016
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