Newcastle news: Fan view on inconsistent Premier League form

I’m getting a bit tired of this, if I’m honest. Not writing this fan column, obviously. Don’t panic. What I’m getting tired of is the constant oscillation between good or great performances by Newcastle United and poor performances, after which I wonder who in this club really wants to be here. Whiplash!

Are we good? Are we terrible? Do we have one eye on the Carabao Cup? I hope not, because that game is a month away and the Premier League is not taking a pause on fixtures so that we can think about it.

It was strange as a fan to see players so disengaged at Manchester City when about 10 days before they were comfortably getting under Arsenal’s skin and advancing us to a cup final.

I know we are not the only team in the league with inconsistent form but what is important to remember is that I only care about Newcastle United and us doing well.

The seemingly selective passivity of this Newcastle side is a hard thing to stomach. One can point to Manchester City’s ability to strengthen in the January window, personified by Omar Marmoush scoring a hat-trick against us, as a reason that Saturday did not go our way.

It is true we have not brought in a first-team player in three windows and that Eddie Howe should (and probably does) feel hard done by in that respect, but Manchester City’s ability to buy is not why we lost to Fulham, Bournemouth or West Ham this season.

I appreciate players like Bruno Guimaraes coming out and saying that it was not good enough – but nobody is telling me why. Why did we put in almost no tackles? Why did we allow so much space and deference to our opponents?

There are many questions, yet again, as we go into Sunday’s game against Nottingham Forest at home. Based on this season, that match will be an 8-0 win for Newcastle and I will be writing jubilantly next week.

Like I said: whiplash!

Find more from Charlotte Robson at the True Faith: Newcastle United Podcast

Why is Newcastle’s form up and down? Tell us here