Newcastle United lost again on their own turf – against Sheffield Wednesday on Monday – and, following Brighton’s victory against QPR Tuesday, are now sitting in second spot in the Championship.
It’s an intriguing statistic that Newcastle didn’t lose any of their five home Premier League games under Rafael Benitez in the latter stages of last season. In fact, they put three past Swansea, drew with Manchester City and battered Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 on the final day. Even that, however, didn’t prevent relegation.
Despite sitting pretty in the automatic promotion positions – a healthy six points separating them from Reading in third – Sheffield Wednesday became the fourth visiting side to depart from St James’ with three points this season.
Huddersfield Town profited on Newcastle’s slow start back in August, Wolves snatched a 2-0 win a month later, while Blackburn Rovers’ dramatic Tyneside triumph owed much to a vastly changed Newcastle United XI. Against Sheffield Wednesday, however, there was no such excuse.
Newcastle weren’t just outscored, they were outplayed too.
Interestingly, as the Chronicle points out, no Championship top half side has lost as many times in front of their own supporters this season. On one hand, such a statistic proves just how impressive Newcastle have been on their travels, but it suggests a vulnerability that belies their league position.
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