The proof Newcastle United are now heading in the right direction

Newcastle United have had an interesting start to the season.

The basic stats tell you that in six Premier League matches, NUFC have had one win, four draws and one defeat.

However, what if you dig below the basics?

I think it is fair to say that most Newcastle United fans think the team have been unlucky not to pick up more than seven points from the opening half a dozen PL games.

Performances not necessarily getting the reward that they deserved.

The players doing especially well, in my opinion, considering that the opening fixtures included Man City and Liverpool, plus tough away games at Brighton and Wolves.

So then, what about these underlying stats though…?

Scratching below the surface, these Other 14 (who specialise in stats for clubs who aren’t ‘big six’ clubs) updated tables give us some key information:

I don’t think anybody had any doubt that on the 90 minutes of action, Newcastle United deserved to beat Crystal Palace.

However, the table above shows just how dominant Newcastle were, when it came to getting into the danger area. Newcastle had more than two and a half times the touches in the opposition box than Palace had, only for an inspired goalkeeper, desperate last ditch defending, some poor finishing and incompetent match officials, to deny NUFC the victory that they clearly deserved.

Indeed, as we can see above, of all the ‘other 14’ clubs, Newcastle United players had more touches in the opposition box than any other side, in the last round of PL fixtures. NUFC most definitely deserved to beat Crystal Palace but it was just one of those days, that’s football.

This is where it gets even more interesting, the days of only having very rare visits to the opposition half, never mind penalty area, under Steve Bruce, are long gone.

Eddie Howe has Newcastle United playing far more progressive football and considering the tough opening fixtures, it is outstanding to see that Howe’s team have had more touches this season in the opposition box, than any of the ‘other 14’ teams.

This is real proof that Newcastle United are now heading in the right direction and if keeping these levels of performance and ambition, the results will undoubtedly follow.