As the final whistle went at the Etihad on Sunday afternoon, the players trooped from the pitch - heavily beaten by Manchester City, it was a day to forget for Newcastle United. Yet, while a Newcastle under the previous owner Mike Ashley would have simply written this one off as ‘ah, well it’s Manchester City,’ this Newcastle United have come too far to do that.
At the turn of the year, Newcastle looked destined to play Championship football next season, and only a miraculous turnaround in form now has them sitting comfortably in midtable. Eddie Howe has come in, raised the standards of the players and set the bar each must meet with every game.
Against City, as good as they are, most fell short. With the talent City have in abundance, they do not need an extra hand in winning games but Newcastle supplied the gifts anyway. All five goals were preventable, and as Howe said after the game, ‘individual mistakes’ cost United dearly.
