Micah Richards has an idea as to why Newcastle United did not attend the races versus Crystal Palace.
It was a very concerning display from the Magpies, who should have been full of confidence following back-to-back victories, particularly that resounding success against Tottenham Hotspur.
Additionally, Newcastle United had over a week to prepare. There was time to rest as well as devise a tactical plan to defeat a Crystal Palace side that had developed significantly under Oliver Glasner.
However, Newcastle failed to actually lay a glove on Palace, much to Eddie Howe’s dissatisfaction. He was mystified by his players and will be desperate for them to respond on Saturday. The Magpies’ next game will be at home against Sheffield United, who are at the bottom of the table.
Newcastle had plenty of time to prepare for the Crystal Palace game
Newcastle were quite awful against Palace, and it’s tough to understand why. The message all season has been that the players require more time on the practice field, and they have received exactly that ahead of this game.
However, the Magpies appeared to be lost on Wednesday night, unable to demonstrate why they are European contenders vying for a place in the Europa League next season. Newcastle’s hopes were dashed as they lost to Manchester United.
Eddie Howe and his team had a disastrous night at work, and Premier League analyst Micah Richards has an explanation for what went wrong in South London.
Match Of The Day debate what went wrong for Newcastle United
Richards appeared on BBC Match Of The Day on Wednesday night, along with Danny Murphy and host Gary Lineker.
They talked on Newcastle’s defeat to Crystal Palace, describing it as a ‘bad night’ for the Magpies.
Lineker says, “Poor night. They had a bit of a gap as well; you expected them to come back flying.”
Richards: “Yeah, poor for sixth place, definitely. But only two shots on target; if you compare it to Spurs’ 4-0 victory 11 days ago, the difference may have been too much.
Murphy: “I believe it is more about their away form. They have been a force at home, but they have struggled significantly away this season.”
Jones: “They are a different side away from home, no question about that.”
Newcastle’s away record this season is not good enough
I’m not sure I totally agree with Richard’s suggestion. The respite should have energized the Newcastle players, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. But the main issue looked to be Crystal Palace’s momentum, which had seen them win two consecutive games against Liverpool and West Ham United.
The Eagles were full of confidence, and we couldn’t match them. We were unable to match them for the full 90 minutes, which is extremely alarming given Howe’s team’s customary competitiveness.
However, as Danny Murphy points out, we are a different beast away from home. Our record away from St James’ Park has been dismal this season, and it only got worse on Wednesday night.
This season, the Magpies have played 16 of their 19 away games and won only four. Howe’s side has 14 points on the road in total, with the setback at Selhurst Park marking their tenth away loss of the season.
It’s a very concerning record, and Howe needs to work on improving it for next season. He could also do with finding an immediate answer, since three of our remaining five games are away from St James’ Park, including a possible European decider against Manchester United on May 15th.
