Newcastle United away day myth busted as Eddie Howe eyes Pep Guardiola solution

Newcastle United winning away - a rarity or not talked about enough?

The Magpies' strong home form and the sheer amount of memorable home victories recorded under Eddie Howe has perhaps lulled the Newcastle faithful into a false sense of performing poorly on the road. There is no doubt they are a stronger outfit at their 52,000-seater home - but a deep dive into results at grounds across the country is revealing.

The 3-1 victory at the City Ground on Sunday was only Newcastle's second win away this term - but the north east outfit have still picked up an above-average eight points from a possible 18 on their travels so far.

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The entire 2024 calendar table has Newcastle sitting fifth, with 49 points. For context, Manchester City sit atop those standings with 74 points. Across the year, Howe's side have won seven of their 16 Premier League ties on the road, which ranks them sixth in the table, just one point behind Aston Villa who are fourth.

Only City and Arsenal have scored more goals than Newcastle in the Premier League, on the road, and only five teams have a better goal difference than Howe's side in those same fixtures.

In the last 11 months, Newcastle have gone to Sunderland, Fulham x2, Aston Villa, Forest x3, Blackburn Rovers, Burnley, Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers and won, in all competitions. They've also taken a point from Everton and Bournemouth in the Premier League.

It is glaringly obvious that teams in and around Newcastle in the top half of the Premier League are missing from the aforementioned list, with Howe's side still struggling when they come up against fellow European contenders away from St James' Park. This, despite beating Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa on home soil in recent seasons.

Thankfully for Newcastle, their upcoming fixtures look good - on paper - both home and away. Between now and New Year's Day, they travel to struggling Crystal Palace, Brentford, Ipswich Town and Manchester United - all of whom are currently in the bottom half of the Premier League.

Sunday's win over Forest will rank, for many, as Newcastle's best of the season. Howe will likely agree after watching his team dominate one of the league's most in-form sides on their own patch. The challenge now is ensuring Newcastle produce those sorts of displays more often when away from the comforts of St James' Park.

“If you go back, historically, our away from was very good in our Champions League (2022/23) season. We were very consistent," Howe said after Newcastle's 0-0 draw at Everton in October.

"There were a couple of off games, but that will happen over the course of a season. Last year this came to the fore but who knows this season, so far we have won one, drawn one and lost one. So, it’s in our hands to change the narrative."

Newcastle's win at Forest was unusual in the sense that the away side dominated the possession, passing and attacking statistics but scored two of their goals through sweeping moves on the counter attack. Howe's side are used to seeing more of the ball than their opponent these days but have proved capable of changing their style of play depending on the opposition and the flow of the game.

Howe, however, want his team to be like Manchester City - the same type of side whoever they play, home or away.

"We want to be the same team home and away. No part of us wants to send a team out and recognise we are playing away from home,' Howe added last month. "We want to see the same energy, the same determination to take the game by the scruff of the neck and dictate play. If you look at the top teams, that’s what they done.

"Take Manchester City. They don’t change, and that’s a compliment. They grab the game, they’re in control of the game. You wouldn’t know whether they’re playing home or away. That’s target for us to try and hit."