If the debate during the international break was what to make of Matthias Jaissle’s strange start at Newcastle United, it feels like this one settled it.
The results might have been mid-table, but the performances have been heading in one direction since that rock-and-roll start against Liverpool.
They have been picking up points but the eyes don’t deceive you. Something needs to change. Newcastle need to rediscover the basics and become harder to beat as a matter of urgency.
If they don’t, things could get ugly quickly. That might sound knee-jerk given the fact that the Coventry City game turned on bad finishing and horrific defensive errors, but you cannot turn to favourable xG when most of your points this season have been won in spite of it.
How bad was this result? Desperate enough to prompt some soul searching with a side order of lessons to be learned quickly. To lose one away game 4-1 is bad but to follow it up on the road with another suggests deeper problems that Jaissle cannot just put down to growing pains and difficulty adopting his “vertical football” philosophy.
We can start with the formation. The Newcastle boss said he would not toss aside his principles on the back of the heavy defeat at Leeds United, and we can presume that resolve will remain, but this was game six and the issues are recurring.
The midfield gets too frequently overrun, there are huge holes all over the field, and the defence is being given no protection at all. All of this is being exacerbated by the system that Jaissle is wed to. Something needs to be sacrificed to get bodies into midfield.
Combine those formation issues with the sort of mistakes that inevitably come with recruiting a team of inexperienced youngsters and it feels like they are inviting trouble on themselves.
Lukas Hornicek – who, veering between excellent and error-prone in his first few games, has been a decent symbol of Newcastle’s season so far – was the man culpable in the early stages at Coventry, but he was far from alone.
In fact, all of the new signings seem to be enduring a baptism of fire in the Premier League. Matias Fernandez-Pardo clearly has something about him but he does not appear suited to playing as a striker, and missed a series of gilt-edged chances to get off the mark in the Premier League.
Bazoumana Toure came on with Newcastle chasing the game and stretched Coventry’s defence with his pace but he too often took the wrong option. The Magpies spent £115m on those three this season, they cannot afford for them to keep making mistakes.
Jaissle bristled during the international break when it was put to him that his favoured style couldn’t translate to the Premier League. Hansi Flick does it with Barcelona, he reasoned. But Flick has world-class talents, while Jaissle has potential, and as bright as some of the players who they’ve brought in are, it is a delicate balance when you’re working with young players.
When the heat is turned up – and it will be this week ahead of a tricky looking game against Aston Villa – how will they respond?
He could do with the veterans stepping up. Sven Botman might have scored a goal-of-the-season contender but he was largely poor, his form worrying since pre-season.
Fabian Schar and Dan Burn are knocking on the door. Newcastle turned down offers to sell Jacob Murphy, such was his importance in the dressing room. But he isn’t offering enough going forward. Even Joelinton, back again to offer heft in midfield, made mistakes during a chaotic, unsustainable final 20 minutes.
Jaissle will point to fine margins and there were points where Newcastle could have kick on in this contest. After Botman’s goal they looked likely to win and had Coventry on the rack but in some ways that is more alarming. Conspiring to lose 4-1 from a commanding position does not speak well about their game management.
Read more
Mark Douglas: My day behind the scenes with Newcastle’s new manager
Big read: The ‘new Yaya Toure’ fronting Newcastle’s academy revolution
On Saturday Will Osula needs to start up front. Burn needs to return at centre-back and the spine needs to be stiffened. They look worse when Sean Steur does not play and perhaps him in a pivot with Nico Gonzalez – who was too easily bypassed at Coventry – might work if another body can be added in the engine room.
This week will be spent absorbing the lessons of this chastening defeat. Jaissle’s staff take part in a deep dive data-driven debrief after every game and insiders have noted how open-minded they are when confronted with the numbers. They will have to be because if they don’t change things, this season will run them over.