Caught in a Trap - Newcastle Must End Their Away-Day Struggles

If ever a short span that summed up Newcastle United's curious season.

On Sunday, Eddie Howe's squad suffered a heavy 3-1 defeat against struggling West Ham at London Stadium.

It was a result that left travel-sick Newcastle languishing in the lower reaches of the Premier League table.

Consider this team went on to leapfrog Real Madrid into sixth place in the Champions League rankings following a 2-0 win against Athletic Club at St James' Park just days later.

It was their fifth straight home victory, but that was not cause for celebration for Howe.

Sunday's trip to Brentford was not far from his mind as Newcastle aim to finally address their road struggles after failing to win on the road in the league since April.

"It's very disappointing because I think we have a playing style and a method of play that is effective, that's highly successful," the Newcastle head coach said.

"For whatever reason we have not been securing victories away from home that we should have.

"We find ourselves stuck in that trap where it's becoming a topic of conversation and we're probably becoming more aware of it."

Home Strengths at 'Secure' St James'

Newcastle's players were definitely reminded of it earlier this week.

There was no place for the team to hide as they were subjected to what defender Dan Burn described as a "very painful" review meeting in the days after the West Ham defeat.

"It was clear how far off we were from what we demand from ourselves," Burn said. "However, that is the best way to learn.

"You have got to have some tough talks and the coach is skilled at doing that. He is always very honest with what he says."

Burn, who went on to open the scoring with a powerful header, always knew that Newcastle would respond against Athletic.

The home side hardly needed any added motivation to contest a Champions League match under the lights at St James'.

In his matchday notes, ahead of the game, captain Bruno Guimaraes even wrote that the stadium was a "safe place for us where we know we play our best football."

And results certainly support that claim.

Newcastle have beaten Athletic, Tottenham, Fulham, Benfica and Nottingham Forest by an combined score of 11-1 on their own turf in the last month alone.

They have a 70% win rate at St James' this season. That record should be even better - last-minute goals proved damaging against Arsenal and Liverpool – but these respective title challengers and Barcelona are the only teams to have beaten Howe's side on Tyneside.

Each by a single goal.

Away-Day Blues

Yet it has been a very different story away from home.

Newcastle have only won four league games on their away trips in 2025 and they have looked especially blunt of late.

Howe's side have scored a quarter as many goals (two) away as they have at home in the league (eight), and last-placed Wolves are the only side to have netted fewer (one) on the road.

Jacob Murphy's first goal against West Ham was a uncommon instance of this side being clinical away from home in the league – just 26 seconds after Hammers captain Jarrod Bowen had struck the post.

Though Newcastle have had more ball control away (56%) than at home (47.1%), according to Opta, Howe's team have had 30 fewer touches in the opposition box (110) and they have only had half as many shots on target (13) on their travels, which highlights the difficulties they have faced penetrating defenses.

Newcastle could at least fall back on their defensive strength as a base to build from earlier in the campaign following shutouts against Aston Villa, Leeds United and Bournemouth in their first three road matches of the season.

But the away side have since conceded five goals in just two matches versus Brighton and West Ham.

That backline work starts with the press from the front, but Newcastle have won possession back on eight fewer occasions (16) away than at home (24), while highly-praised midfield trio Sandro Tonali, Joelinton and Guimaraes have been repeatedly bypassed on the road in recent weeks.

Burn has spoken of the need to "adopt a grittier approach", referencing how his side were "well-known a few years ago for something-housery."

Howe acknowledged his side "possibly need a bit of that" ahead of Sunday's trip to the Gtech Community Stadium as he called on his players to bring the "skill, execution and, most importantly, the attitude".

"It's about playing a game of football and delivering a good performance – no matter where we are playing," he said.

"The only way we can address those doubts is to perform and get the job done."