The Terrible Away Form of This Premier League Team is a Serious Concern

Before yesterday, West Ham hadn't won a home game since the 27th of February.

And, with all the odds seemingly stacked against the Hammers, most people expected a pretty comfortable Newcastle United win.

But those people forgot one thing … Newcastle are shambolic away from home.

In fact, they haven't won on their travels since beating eventually relegated Leicester City in April of last season.

So when West Ham slotted home an unbelievably sloppy third goal to make it 3-1 after a fruitless half of uninspiring possession for the away side, not only was it not really a shock for us Newcastle fans – it was almost expected.

But it does raise a lot of questions. The main one being, why on earth are Newcastle so bad away from home?

In Danger of Derailing Ambitions

It started as a bit of a worry, but has slowly descended into a full-blown crisis.

Lethargic, uncoordinated and quite frankly devoid of creativity. Those are just a few of the things which have characterised Newcastle United in almost every Premier League away trip over the last year.

This season has begun with three draws and two losses from five away games. In those three draws Newcastle haven't scored a single goal, in the two games lost they have conceded five.

Newcastle United are now without a win in EIGHT away Premier League matches 😬 pic.twitter.com/cqm2JRrrZQ

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 2, 2025

For a side with aims of qualifying for Champions League football once again this season, form like that is an absolute disaster.

And it is a large part of the reason Newcastle currently find themselves in 13th, equidistant from the top five and the relegation zone.

Something needs to change soon, but with a midweek Champions League encounter against Bilbao on Wednesday at St James' Park, followed by another away trip to London to face Brentford, there is a real chance Newcastle will go into the international break with yet another loss on their away record.

What has Changed?

Despite the current state of play, this hasn't always been the case.

In fact, back in the 22/23 season, Eddie Howe's men had one of the best away records in the Premier League.

So how on earth has the club gone from one of the best to one of the worst in such a short space of time?

Well, you could blame this season on Champions League football and an increase in games…

But Newcastle weren't in Europe at all last season, and their record was still poor. Not to mention the fact that in 22/23, when the last spell of good away form hit, Newcastle were also in the Champions League… Doesn't add up, does it?

A stat nobody is talking about.

Newcastle are yet to win away in the Premier League 📉 #NUFC

🟰Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle
🟰Leeds Utd 0-0 Newcastle
🟰Bournemouth 0-0 Newcastle
❌Brighton 2-1 Newcastle
❌West Ham 3-1 Newcastle

That’s 3️⃣ points from a possible 1️⃣5️⃣ pic.twitter.com/LCT7ebFTPU

— EPL Digest (@epldigest) November 2, 2025

Okay, okay. Maybe the squad depth and quality just isn't there to cope with the extra games and extra intensity of said games…

Hmmm, not really sure that claim stands up when the club spent £240 million in the summer, albeit alongside the £150m sale of Alex Isak, and brought in what many agreed was some much-needed squad depth ahead of a big season.

So, when you really take a look at the finer details, it actually becomes more difficult to distinguish what is going on, instead of becoming clearer.

Tactical Problem or Lack of Effort

Like every other side in the Premier League, Newcastle have injuries.

Yesterday's fullback pairing consisted of Emil Krafth, who has barely kicked a football for the last 6 months, and 6'7" Dan Burn, who, quite frankly, just isn't a left back.

Livramento, Hall and Trippier are all struggling with various knocks and bangs, and with that area of the pitch being a big part of Newcastle's creative output, it has caused massive problems.

But, like any other football club, you must find ways to adapt. Play through the midfield, for example.

Well, the issue with that is, Newcastle's usually industrious midfield has been struggling to get going this season. Joelinton has struggled to offer quality in possession, Bruno Guimaraes has been extremely inconsistent in his performances, and Sandro Tonali has struggled to control by himself in spite of his shiny new contract.

Joelinton when you ask him to control the game instead of physically abusing players pic.twitter.com/d6LmNpNObs

— V (@afc__victor) November 2, 2025

All of this is partially down to the structure and partially down to the players themselves.

Howe seems hell-bent on playing a flat midfield three no matter the circumstance. This has left gaping holes between them and the backline, allowing space for opposition players to drop in and create chances.

Take the West Ham game, again. Coming into the game and seeing a double pivot of Matheus Fernandes and full debutant Freddie Potts, you would have thought Newcastle's midfield would get the upper hand.

Instead, they got repeatedly played through and ran all over the park for most of the game.

Okay, well, let's play down the wings. That only works with output, and Anthony Gordon has been ineffective in the Premier League, despite his exceptional Champions League form, without a single goal contribution thus far. £55 million man Anthony Elanga has failed to hit the ground running (failing to notch a goal or assist in his first 15 games for the club) and has been replaced as a starter by the only shining light, Jacob Murphy.

Nick Woltemade is a wonderful footballer, but give him no service, as was the case yesterday before he was hauled off for Will Osula at half-time, and he's almost redundant.

Add onto that a goalkeeper who can't kick the ball in a straight line and often cosplays as a scarecrow when a shot arrows towards his goal (my gripe with Nick Pope could be an entire article on its own), and you start to get a picture of why it isn't working.

"We Need You More Than Ever"

It is a phrase bandied around seemingly every time Newcastle face defeat on the road, and one which Newcastle fans are pretty sick of.

The Geordies are well regarded as one of the best fanbases in the country, especially away from home.

But at some point, the players both need to give them something to cheer for rather than the noise coming purely from blind faith.

Sick of this “we need you more than ever” shite after every game we lose. Our form shouldn’t rely on how many pints some fat bald da has had before kick off at SJP, how about you give fans something to shout about rather than relying on the opposition to cack themselves https://t.co/M0i03ROFYJ

— pdb (@nufcpb) November 3, 2025

One of the banterous lines used against Newcastle is that they are passion merchants… Well, is it a coincidence that without the bubbling cauldron of St James' Park on a big night behind them, the players rarely perform? Who knows?

Now I'm not going to sit here and pretend that this is full-on panic stations time. After all, Newcastle started last season in poor form before recovering to make the Champions League.

But any football fan with an ounce of knowledge can see that this away form needs to be fixed, and quickly.

Another home Champions League game midweek gives another opportunity to contrast the Premier League form of the club, as has happened at almost every turn so far this season.

But that game next weekend at the G-tech is becoming of increasing importance. If Newcastle can begin to turn the tide on their travelling performances, it must be said that they will be a force to be reckoned with this season.

But it has to happen sooner rather than later, or this season will quickly become a disastrous campaign which could set the club back drastically in their progress.