Despite tactical flaws and a fixture pile-up, Eddie Howe still has a ‘glass half full’ attitude before Manchester United trip
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ewcastle supporters are starting to regard Eddie Howe’s team as an unreliable friend. Catch them on the right night and they invariably prove the life and soul of the thrillingly high-intensity party but, on other days, the once-dependable Sandro Tonali and company simply fail to turn up.
As if that were not bad enough, their second-half game management has become suffused with a chaotic streak. Howe’s players visit Manchester United on Boxing Day having dropped 13 Premier League points from winning positions this season and are without a clean sheet in 10 games in all competitions. Victory at Old Trafford would be only their second away league win.
Conversely, they have lost once in six league matches and, despite sitting a modest 11th, are only six points adrift of a top-four place. Throw in an impending two-leg Carabao Cup semi-final against Manchester City and a decent chance of progression to the Champions League knockout phase and it is easy to appreciate why Howe is cautiously optimistic about the evolution of his alternately bewildering and bewitching team.
