Newcastle were narrowly defeated by Burnley last weekend but the lack of quality and ambition on show meant that Newcastle were never likely to come away from Turf Moor with a win.

On the chalkboard

Steve Bruce has settled on the formation and style he wants his team to play, but the very nature of its approach, with a focus on the defence and organisation, means that results could swing either way.

He doesn’t have players to call upon who can win his team a match with a moment of quality, and in recent weeks matches have been decided by an effectiveness in both boxes, particularly from set-pieces.

Burnley won out after Chris Wood bundled in a corner, and the Magpies’ zero shots on target meant they had no response, and likely wouldn’t have scored if they had kept playing beyond the 90 minutes.

Bruce’s life was made more difficult without a few key players in his side, but his team haven’t dominated a single match this term, with the clash against the Clarets the first time they’ve had a majority share of possession, and that goes to show why they are likely to struggle with consistency for the rest of the campaign.

Lack of quality

Newcastle looked limited without players like Allan Saint-Maximin and Jonjo Shelvey against Burnley, with the latter particularly impressing in front of goal recently.

The winger too has been lively with an average of 4.5 successful dribbles per game, and their absence on Saturday led to a decline in intensity and attacking quality.

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However, even when they do play they are sometimes unable to influence proceedings. The match against lowly Aston Villa a few weeks ago evidenced that, as the Magpies were played off the park despite Villa’s woes this season.

Their lack of possession – enjoying just 38% of the ball – and goal threat was an eye-opener, and evidenced exactly how Bruce’s negative set-up limits the few quality players in his squad from showing exactly what they’re capable of.

He may be concerned that a lack of quality throughout the team could lead to his side being opened up and punished, but a change in style would at least grant Newcastle more control over matches and deciding the outcome, rather than depending on defenders to drag them out of trouble by scoring goals, as has occurred in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, the absence of Miguel Almiron also hindered Newcastle and could continue to do so this weekend as his chances of playing against Crystal Palace are 50/50.