Very bizarre and confusing – All of these Newcastle United stats are true

Newcastle United stats were flying about after Tuesday night’s match.

Journalists close to Steve Bruce eager to say that avoiding defeat to League One Oxford, means that Newcastle are unbeaten in eight games.

Also of course, the stat that we were all aware of, the first time Mike Ashley has led us into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

I have put together a slightly wider set of Newcastle United stats to give some perspective…

Newcastle United stats in 2019/20:

Unbeaten in eight matches

NUFC have won only one of last seven Premier League matches

Most successful FA Cup run in 14 years

It has taken four matches (and extra time) to get past two League One teams

Steve Bruce says Newcastle were the ‘better team’ and ‘deserved to beat Oxford

Oxford had equal possession (50%), more shots (20 v 16) and more corners (6 v 4) – Source BBC Sport

Newcastle led Rochdale at half-time at St James Park, 3-0 up despite only two shots on target

When Newcastle face Arsenal will have won one Premier League game in over eight weeks

Newcastle United have 31 points after 25 Premier League matches

Newcastle United have the worst or at least bottom three (relegation) stats in pretty much every single category: least chances created, most chances for opposition, goals scored, expected goals, expected points, corners, shots on target, shots at your own goal, possession

Not a single shot on target in three different Premier League matches

Mike Ashley raised season ticket prices (by 5%) yet again, when vasts majority of other club are freezing prices

It meant some fans paying over 25% more now than two seasons ago (2017/18)

St James Park saw official (paying) crowds drop to lowest in decade at SJP with over 10,000 unsold seats (Southampton)

Whilst less than 40,000 fans actually physically inside SJP for the Brighton match

Mike Ashley has given away 10,000 season tickets

Picked up four points from recent Chelsea and Everton matches despite not a single serious save for opposition keepers in the 90 minutes of both games and the scousers leading 2-0 going into added time

Newcastle’s strikers – Gayle, Carroll, Joelinton and Muto – have scored a combined one PL goal with two thirds of season gone (including record £40m record signing centre-forward)

NUFC fan and homegrown 19 year old Matty Longstaff has scored two goals in six PL starts, both against Man Utd

Matty Longstaff sees his contract end in June with Mike Ashley so far refusing to make an acceptable offer of a new deal, on a reported £850 a week at the minute, Newcastle would only get £400,000 development compensation if he decides to leave

Steve Bruce has repeatedly said over the past six months that a host of key players, including the Longstaff brothers as well as more experience players are set to agree new deals

Only Martin Dubravka has signed a new enhanced/longer NUFC deal in the last 12 months

Of the club’s current 26 man first team squad, 17 of them see their existing contracts run out in the next 16 months (either June 2020 or June 2021)

Newcastle defenders have scored 50% (12 of 24) of NUFC’s PL goals so far

Rock bottom of the PL table Norwich City came to St James Park and Steve Bruce said afterwards he had set up his team to be ‘difficult to beat’ and said his team is not capable of dominating any PL team (great for player morale!)

In that game, Norwich had their most corners (12) of the season, more than their last four PL matches combined. The Canaries also had 19 shots which is their most in an away game all season, plus it is only the second time in PL history any team has had that many shots without scoring.