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A few years back, Newcastle United's mantra was straightforward as they stormed into the Champions League and unsettled some of the Premier League's heavyweights.
Eddie Howe instilled in his players that "intensity is our identity," and when it worked, it was truly spectacular. Even in 2025, when this strategy was executed to perfection, Newcastle proved they could take on anyone. That approach led them to lift the Carabao Cup after defeating Liverpool at Wembley, and it saw them return to the Champions League last spring.
This season, we've caught glimpses of it, notably in the 2-1 victory over Man City and the 4-1 triumph against Everton, where everything fell into place. So what's different now? Has the sale of Alexander Isak to Liverpool altered the character of Howe's squad? Or is it taking longer than expected for newcomers like Nick Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Anthony Elanga, Jacob Ramsey, and Malick Thiaw to find their feet?
When questioned about these issues, Howe admitted on Tuesday: "Yeah, of course it was a difficult summer and I said there and then, whenever you lose a player like Alex, who's one of the best strikers in the world, your team's going to suffer from that.
"I don't care who you bring in to replace him. That's a very difficult piece of your jigsaw to replace.
"Now, it's not just Alex. We're always evolving and changing as players are ageing. And then we've entered sort of, I think, a new dynamic for the team and we're adjusting to that and I think with that comes some bumps and some rough patches.
"I don't know whether backwards is the right word. I think we're changing and morphing into something else and hopefully that something else will be very positive in the future."
Following the loss to Sunderland, which sees Newcastle languishing in the bottom half of the table as Christmas approaches, Howe recognizes that the Fulham fixture offers an opportunity to lift morale. A place in the semi-finals would provide the ideal tonic after such a crushing result in the North East derby.
Keen to move on, Howe said today: "The magnitude of this game is a great thing for us because we'll need no incentive, like we didn't for the previous game, which is why the performance was a bit baffling because we didn't execute the with the ball stuff we thought we could.
"This game is a great tonic for us, but only if we approach it in the right way, have recovered from Sunday and use this as a force for good."
Rather than viewing the road ahead as daunting, Howe chose to frame it as a challenge. He added: "I think every season is a challenge, nothing is ever easy. I always find it difficult to rank these things, it is a challenging moment for us but I think this season was always going to be.
"But it's a challenge you relish, you have to find solutions, that's always how I've looked at things. If you have problems with the team or aspects of your game you have to work hard to find a solution, coach the players to find a solution. You've got to help everyone connected with the training ground to stay positive and find a solution. I see no other way."
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