At Newcastle, actions on the pitch are not matching words off it

Eddie Howe’s pause felt interminable. The lull only lasted seven seconds, but that is an age when answering a question.Asked following the abject 2-1 home defeat by Bournemouth whether his Newcastle United players had the same “fire” inside of them that Howe had insisted he did, the head coach hesitated. Howe tried to downplay his hesitation by claiming he did not feel able to speak for others, but the delay was telling.Howe’s silence was far more revealing than the words that eventually did come out of his mouth.Advertisement