When the full-time whistle blew at St James’ Park after Newcastle United’s 3-3 draw against Brentford last November, their long search for a first league victory of the campaign rumbled on.
But Newcastle delivered promising signs that a revival could be on the horizon in Eddie Howe’s debut (albeit watching from his hotel after contracting Covid) and even Brentford boss Thomas Frank acknowledged the difference in style and mentality.
“100%. Definitely much more front-footed,” Frank revealed last November. “Definitely much more aggressive in the pressure and I think, in all aspects, it was a team that wanted to play a bit more.
“That’s the most difficult thing to train and improve and I think you saw the first signs. I’m pretty sure Eddie would say: ‘We need to do better’. Not because it was bad but probably when you watch it back, I think he will say: ‘There’s bits and pieces we need to do even better’.
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“But you saw they were very aggressive and very front-footed. On the ball, there was much more of a willingness to keep possession.”
Newcastle had led for no less than 70 seconds against the Bees but the first victory would come in the shape of a 1-0 triumph over Burnley just a fortnight later.
Howe had vowed to play more on the front-foot and that rallying cry appeared to have backfired when Newcastle succumbed to heavy defeats against Leicester, Liverpool and Manchester City in December.
But his plan clicked into gear as Newcastle lost just five of their final 18 games to escape the relegation mire and climb to a respectable 11th place finish. Only Liverpool (47 points) and champions Man City (40) collected more points than Newcastle (35) between the turn of the year and the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
The pressure has been cranked up on Howe following another transfer window, which saw them break their transfer record to bring Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad.
That pressure was intensified after the Magpies went six league games without a win (D5 L1) following their opening day victory against Nottingham Forest. But Newcastle’s 4-1 demolition of Fulham reminded everyone just what Howe’s side is capable of and provides them with a huge boost heading into this weekend’s clash against Brentford.
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