From Conceição to Eduardo Hoão, Porto have prepared us for Newcastle…
There was a time when Eddie Howe managed a bright, earnest, and forward-looking AFC Bournemouth. Despite financial limitations, Howe set the Cherries up to play positive football. They pressed, They got up the pitch. They went toe-to-toe with the big boys, and it wasn’t just interesting to watch; it worked. Under his second spell as manager, Bournemouth won promotion from League 1 to the Championship and from there to the Prem, where they spent five seasons before getting relegated, all on a shoestring. Not bad. However, that’s when Howe learned the dark arts under Diego Simeone at Atlético Madrid. We’ve seen enough of it to know what to expect.
Whether it’s Nick Pope collapsing to the pitch, untouched and unharmed to waste time, Guimarães applying a forearm-shiver to the back of Xhaka’s head, or Joelinton showing our Big Gabi to the ground from behind while perhaps handling the ball so that Anthony Gordon can tap in from a possibly offside position, it’s clear that Howe—or should we call him Hoão—has mastered the dark arts.
As such, our midweek setback should be instructive. Yes, West Ham and Burnley sat back and tried to soak up pressure in order to hit on counters, but they just don’t have the personnel to make it work. Porto do—and they taught us a lesson. We rely extensively on Saka and Martinelli to create chances from the wings, and Porto defended that well. Like Porto, Newcastle have the kind of quality in their squad to make that parked bus-cum-counter strategy work . There was a time a season ago when Newcastle could press with an intensity that was breathless (at times literally) to behold; injuries and the threat of financial sanctions have shorn the side somewhat of that cutting edge. Speaking of injuries, Toon will arrive on Saturday without the services of Pope, Joelinton, Targett, Wilson, and Willock and may also be without the services of Isak up top.
Newcastle have been uneven and inconsistent all season, and they languish in mid-table form after securing a top-four spot from last season. They finished bottom of a UCL group of death that included PSG, Dortmund, and AC Milan. They’ve largely abandoned the more-aggressive, high-energy pressing that was such a hallmark of last season’s success, and that raft of injuries is a big reason why.
Be that as it may, Howe’s turn to the dark side cannot be underestimated. We have to know—and, again, we have Porto to thank for reminding us—that our next opponent has mastered those dark arts. Expect all sorts of physical, “professional” fouls. Expect a good amount of diving and writhing. Last season, Howe’s side were so good at stalling tactics that only Leeds (relegated, mind you) were involved in less active play. If that was their template whilst finishing fourth, imagine what it will be while they’re fighting to stay in the top half of the table.
For ourselves, we’ll simply have to show more of a cutting edge against yet another side playing in a low block. Arteta showed against West Ham that he could innovate on the fly, asking White to invert from the right to overload the midfield to important effect. Against Porto, he was strangely sterile, making no changes to tactics, formation, or even personnel until the 74th minute, when he made the all-too-cautious substitution of Jorginho for Trossard. That’s the kind of substitution one makes when one wants to see out a result rather than find one.
We’ve enjoyed a string of results that have stroked our egos. A setback in Portugal should serve as the kind of reality check that young squad and manager need in order to re-set priorities. Let’s hope that the lads—and this includes Arteta, for as young as he is—receive that reality check for the gravitas with which it arrives.
