Newcastle: Howe acknowledges change without Isak; draw against Bournemouth

Eddie Howe, Newcastle’s coach, has acknowledged that his team will present a different offensive style this season following Alexander Isak’s departure. The manager’s comment comes after the goalless draw against Bournemouth, his former club. This result marks the third consecutive goalless draw away from home for Howe’s Newcastle.

That’s three 0-0s away from home for us, something unusual with our attacking style.

Eddie Howe

Following Isak’s transfer to Liverpool for a millionaire sum, Newcastle moved quickly to incorporate Yoane Wissa, who is expected to be out with an injury for the next month, and Nick Woltemade, who led the attack at the Vitality Stadium.

I think Nick played very well today. He was very effective with his footwork and his connection.

Eddie Howe

Howe also added that the team needs time to adapt to Woltemade’s style and empower the players around him. Despite the lack of goals, Newcastle has kept a clean sheet in four of the five matches this season, a remarkable feat against a Bournemouth in good form. Bournemouth had a goal disallowed for offside, and Newcastle generated a clear chance at the end of the match that Djordje Petrovic deflected.

Andoni Iraola, Bournemouth’s coach, highlighted the competitiveness of the match and the difficulty both teams had in generating clear chances.

We respect each other a lot. It was very different from the last matches between Bournemouth and Newcastle.

Andoni Iraola

Iraola also mentioned that Malick Thiaw, Newcastle defender, should have been sent off after a foul on Ryan Christie.