Eddie Howe wasn’t laughing a year ago when Newcastle were beaten 4-2 at Liverpool and conceded 34 shots with an xG (expected goals) against of 7.27, an unwanted Premier League record.
‘Thanks for mentioning that statistic, it’s a good reminder of that night!’ Howe said on Friday, when I reviewed the New Year’s Day thrashing at Anfield. This time, however, he was laughing.
Might as well do it. The context for reminding Howe of “that night”, as he put it, is that Newcastle currently have, on form, the poorest rearguard in the Premier League.
And here is the secret. When Newcastle’s defense is at its best, and that’s how Howe has designed it, they don’t have to defend much.
Take their last four Premier League games for example. Not only have they won all four games without conceding a goal, but goalkeeper Martin Dubravka has only been able to make four saves.
With a ratio of one call of duty per game, it is the lowest in the top flight this season. And in fact, only two of those shots were from inside the area.
Eddie Howe wasn’t laughing when Newcastle suffered a heavy 4-2 defeat at Anfield last year.
Against a rampaging Liverpool side, the Magpies conceded 34 shots with a record xGA of 7.27.
However, a year on, Newcastle currently have, in form, the best rearguard in the Premier League.
Howe’s theory is that when his team performs the way he wants, it should reduce the need for last-gasp heroics. For the shot, for the goal. Better yet, stop the attack, stop the shot.
That’s not to say Newcastle don’t have players who put their bodies on the line – Dan Burn and Lewis Hall both produced blocks in the 2-0 win over Manchester United this week – and Howe relishes that enthusiasm, but by using his mind , the body can be saved.
And that brings us to the key that opened Newcastle’s season and left out the rival: Sandro Tonali as a holding midfielder. Right now, the Italian has control over almost everything, in front and behind. He even found time to give the referee a shot at Old Trafford.
“He runs to put out fires, nicks balls, intercepts balls and uses his athleticism to follow runners. He’s been excellent from a defensive standpoint,” said Howe, whose team is undefeated in eight games with Tonali at No. 6.
The insurance policy behind Tonali is Burn. “You’ll never, ever beat Dan Burn,” they sing, and the ode is ringing true. The giant Geordie is the Diplodocus of football with an arsenal of Stegosaurus. He has the frame of the NBA with the strength of the NFL.
When Thomas Tuchel attends his first Premier League match as England manager during Newcastle’s trip to Tottenham on Saturday, he will be watching the country’s most in-form centre-back.
Burn has been Newcastle’s player of the season, and that’s a competitive field to target when considering players like Alexander Isak. At 32 – 34 when the World Cup begins next year, his chances of being called up for the first time are slim, especially since qualifying looks so easy.
But is he playing better than John Stones, Harry Maguire and Marc Guehi, who have recently played for England at centre-back? You bet.
With Sandro Tonali at the base of the midfield as number 6, Newcastle are unbeaten in eight games
Dan Burn is arguably England’s most in-form centre-back and Thomas Tuchel will be ready to watch Newcastle take on Tottenham on Saturday.
Sven Botman’s imminent return from a 10-month knee injury has led many to assume he will take Burn’s place as Newcastle’s left centre-back. Not Howe.
“As long as Dan continues to play like he has this season, there is no way you can contemplate losing him in the backline,” said the head coach, who brought Burn back home from Brighton three years ago this month for £ 13 million. .
“He has been an incredible signing, even better than I thought. We knew he had talent and could make a difference with his height and size. When you add leadership and consistency in performance and selection, he has been a tower of strength in the locker room, a real and powerful force.”
And what about Howe’s own journey? As a player he was a centre-back, but as a coach he was often criticized at Bournemouth for failing to organize a defence.
In five seasons in the Premier League, his Cherries team never conceded fewer than 60 goals. He laughed too when I reminded him of that reputation.
‘I’ll take it the way you said it!’ he said, accepting with a smile the existence of the historical stigma.
But I think as a coach you always evolve. I don’t have the same vision of the game that I had five or six years ago. If he did, there would be a problem. You are always changing your focus, changing the things that you think are most relevant to your team.
“Believe it or not, we’ve always focused a lot on the defensive side of the game; we would be remiss not to.” But the delivery depends on the players. Let’s not fool ourselves: if you don’t have good defenders and a good midfield structure to protect your defense, you will concede goals. “If your goalkeeper isn’t playing well, you’re going to concede goals.”
Howe’s side have seven clean sheets this season, behind only Liverpool and Nottingham Forest (eight).
Currently, Howe’s midfield is playing well, as are their defenders and goalkeeper. His seven clean sheets this season rank behind only Liverpool and Nottingham Forest (both eight), and add to a burgeoning defensive CV that includes the 2022-23 season, when no team allowed fewer goals than Howe’s Newcastle.
“It’s also about the will to defend your goal,” he added. ‘Against Brentford (4-2 defeat in November), we didn’t have it. I was really disappointed with our defensive performance that day. It wasn’t what I wanted to see from the team. There has been a much better response.
“You saw against Manchester United, the opportunities they had, we were putting our bodies in the way and it seemed like we had a great desire to defend. The challenge is to keep this going.”
Keep going and Newcastle will return to the Champions League, just as an impenetrable defense did in 2023.
The numbers put them once again on track for that prize, and that’s not bad for a coach whose teams, as it was once said, couldn’t defend.