Eddie Howe's ruthless £110million move as Newcastle United boss holds immediate inquest

Eddie Howe got ruthless with his Newcastle United players at St James' Park when hauling off £110million worth of talent in this miserable Monday night defeat to West Ham.

This was an evening in which nothing came off for the black and whites and their sloppy defending meant they were architects of their own downfall in a 2-0 loss. Under pressure Julen Lopetegui changed things up from their previous game by moving from a 4-1-4-1 formation to a 4-2-3-1 system but shoddy defending from Newcastle proved to be a major factor in this defeat.

Toon chief Howe has warned his players he won't put up with complacency and will make changes at the slightest sign of below par displays. It's believed that the head coach hauled his entire team in for a half-time roasting but it did not have the desired effect and even the changes didn't make a great deal of difference.

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The Magpies lost the toss and attacked the Gallowgate End in the first 45 minutes on a mild November Tyneside night. United then had their first opening on two minutes as Tino Livramento rolled the ball to Alexander Isak but he hit it high and wide.

Isak then raced through and clipped the ball over Lukasz Fabianski before the flag went up and a VAR check then subsequently rubber stamped he'd strayed offside. With 10 minutes played though it was the visitors who opened the scoring after Livramento had conceded a corner.

Emerson Palmieri's corner was whipped in and big centre-back Tomas Soucek was afforded a free header to steer it home near the penalty spot. Given Newcastle's meticulous work in front of the video screen this would go down as a cheap goal to concede.

Soucek shimmied his way around the penalty box to lose his marker Lloyd Kelly before grabbing the opening goal of the night.

On 15 minutes the ball dropped to Joe Willock after Joelinton's cross but he sent the ball wide of the target. The first half reached the mid-way point with the Hammers still ahead but Carlos Soler watched a long range sail narrowly past the post.

Willock fell awkwardly on 24 minutes and required treatment with the midfielder's knock causing concern on the Toon bench. Anthony Gordon's cross from the left found Sean Longstaff at the back post on 29 minutes but his header went straight into the hands of the keeper.

The game was halted on the half-hour mark after Michail Antonio had to go off to replace a ripped jersey - much to the frustration of the United faithful. But even as early as the 15 minute stage, West Ham began trying to wind the clock down with some serious time wasting.

The Magpies went in a goal down at the break and were forced to change things up during the interval as Harvey Barnes replaced Willock. It saw Gordon take up a position on the right-hand side and he sent an effort wide on 52 minutes.

But West Ham would strengthen their grip two minutes later as Jarrod Bowen slipped in Aaron Wan-Bissaka before the ex-Man United man was allowed to glide his way into the box before drilling the ball home to make it 2-0.

Given the sloppiness of the first goal, the second hardly made for good viewing either. Longstaff was caught ball watching as Lucas Paqueta had time to pick out Jarrod Bowen. Bowen then neatly cut the ball across to the unmarked Wan-Bissaka who had the time to take a touch before firing the ball off the post.

Howe then got ruthless with more changes, taking off stars Joelinton and Gordon for the returning Callum Wilson and Jacob Murphy. Wilson had not played since May and was handed the trickiest of tasks.

Wilson's first real involvement in the game saw substitute Konstantinos Mavropands wrestle with the number 9 in the box but the onfield decision of no penalty would stand. West Ham threw Danny Ings and Vladmir Coufal on for the last 15 minutes as they looked to seal off the points. .

As the game slipped away from United, skipper Bruno Guimaraes signalled to be replaced with 10 minutes to go. Kieran Trippier came on for the Magpies as Bruno headed straight down the tunnel having pointed to the top of his right leg.

The game drew to a close with every West Ham pass being roared with enthusiasm from Level 7. In contrast, Newcastle's post-game lack of appreciation was subdued and the delights of Nottingham Forest before the Premier League break seemed long forgotten.

Back to the drawing board for the trip to Crystal Palace for Howe and his backroom team after this one unfortunately.

Referee: Craig Pawson (Sheffield)

Attendance: 52,094