‘I don’t pick the team based on transfer fees’ – Howe on Newcastle’s ‘incredible’ record of dropping points from winning positions

‘I don’t pick the team based on transfer fees’ – Howe on Newcastle’s ‘incredible’ record of dropping points from winning positions

Eddie Howe says Newcastle dropping 25 points from winning positions this season is an “incredible” statistic, and admits his players’ approach against Crystal Palace was not what he had instructed.

Will Osula opened the scoring for Newcastle but two late goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta handed them a 2-1 defeat at Selhurst Park.

“Those numbers are incredible, really, and it’s blighted our season,” Howe said on Newcastle dropping points from a winning position again.

“The fact that we haven’t been able to not just sort of consolidate really good passages of the game, but go on and score more goals and continue to attack, I think I’ve said many times that’s not the tactical instruction we give the players. We don’t want to go 1-0 up and change to a mentality of defending, but we’ve done it so I can’t say it hasn’t happened.

“But then if you are going to defend, we have to defend better than we did.”

Howe opted to start goalscorer Osula over big summer signings Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa and asked about the decision, he said: “I don’t pick the team based on transfer fees.

“I have to pick the team based on what I see. I thought Will Osula has trained well. I think he deserved to start today. I thought he played well, Will.

“I thought he was, again, a real positive coming out of the game. I thought he took his goal well. He’s got the physical attributes, the determination to do really well. He’s improving, I think, week in, week out, so I was delighted with his performance.”