It used to be Newcastle United who put men behind the ball, even at St James' Park, but now the opposition do it. In a way, that is the ultimate compliment - even if it did not feel like it for Eddie Howe after a frustrating 1-1 draw against Bournemouth.
There were some boos at the final whistle on Saturday, but it is easy to forget how far Newcastle have come and, indeed, how far the Magpies still have to go despite £210m of investment in 2022. This is a side, after all, who have lost just one match all season, but who have also only won a single Premier League game so far in the current campaign.
In the first seven league fixtures of the season, which included fixtures against Man City and Liverpool, Newcastle have averaged 17 shots per match, 56% possession and eight corners yet only have eight points to show for it. Newcastle are struggling to break down teams who sit back but if the black-and-whites maintain those sorts of numbers, particularly when the influential Allan Saint-Maximin and Callum Wilson return, some of those draws will inevitably start turning into wins again.
READ MORE: Newcastle panic after Isak celebration, two words screamed in anger and 'frustrated' Eddie Howe
It is also worth bearing in mind that, not so long ago, Newcastle may have crumbled following Philip Billing's 62nd-minute opener on Saturday. However, just a few minutes later, the hosts were level after Alexander Isak confidently dispatched a penalty.
That should have been lift off with nearly half an hour to go, if you include stoppage time, but Newcastle never looked like scoring a winner. The hosts quickly ran out of ideas against deep-lying Bournemouth and resorted to ambitious efforts from distance.
Newcastle simply lacked game changers from the bench to do just that: change games. With a number of players absent, including Jonjo Shelvey, Elliot Anderson, Saint-Maximin and Wilson, more than half of Howe's bench was made up of a goalkeeper, Loris Karius, and four defenders: Javier Manquillo, Sven Botman, Jamaal Lascelles and Jamal Lewis.
Perhaps, then, it was not a surprise that Howe only used three of his five permitted substitutions as he brought on Jacob Murphy, Sean Longstaff and Chris Wood, and that has been a recurring theme this season. In fact, Howe has only used his maximum allocation on two occasions and there has been a noticeable pattern to his changes.
Aside from the opening day win against Forest, which remains Newcastle's only top-flight victory this season, Howe has tended to either make a double change midway through the second half when turning to his bench for the first time or, alternatively, two quickfire substitutions a minute apart slightly later on.
There have been times where Newcastle's subs have made a real impact this season - the trip to Wolves stands out as does Anderson's brilliant cameo against Palace for that matter - but the Magpies have looked a little light in reserve for the most part. If Newcastle are to one day upset the established order, that simply has to change in the coming years.
You only had to look at how Spurs had the luxury of being able to introduce Son heung-Min, who scored a hat-trick as a substitute after coming on against Leicester City, to realise the work Newcastle have to do to one day close the gap on the top six. The bench Man City named at Wolves, meanwhile, cost around £200m to put together. Clearly, it is going to take Newcastle time and some smart recruitment to get to these sorts of levels.
A squad can't simply be overhauled overnight, after all, and even if financial restrictions were not in place, Howe would be against a huge turnover of players because the Newcastle boss is conscious of not breaking the spirit and togetherness that has already been fostered.
However, you can certainly see why Howe wanted to sign a wide forward earlier this summer and why Newcastle made a number of bids to bring in such a difference maker. Wilson's injury changed the profile of attacker Newcastle were targeting, though, and the Magpies, ultimately, completed a club-record move for top target Alexander Isak.
Isak will bring so much to this side, but Newcastle will need other additions up front in the years to come, too. There had previously been serious interest in, among others, James Maddison, Moussa Diaby, Jack Harrison and Joao Pedro. With planning already under way for the windows ahead, do not be surprised if one of these moves is revisited in 2023.
READ NEXT
Newcastle panic after Isak celebration, two words screamed in anger and 'frustrated' Eddie Howe
Bournemouth's telling response after their Newcastle fear as sub sent on with Chris Wood order
Newcastle booed, Alexander Isak's brilliant reaction and brutal Bournemouth taunt - 5 things
Newcastle United vs AFC Bournemouth highlights
Eddie Howe's response to Jose Mourinho's pyjamas comment that Newcastle supporters will love
