‘Manchester City was proof Newcastle United don’t turn up for big games’ – Now fact-checked | OneFootball

Certain Newcastle United fans have been claiming that, Saturday at Manchester City was proof Newcastle United don’t turn up for big games.

Is that true?

Or yet another example of part of the Newcastle United fanbase digging themselves yet another big hole of negativity, that they then can’t/won’t climb out of?

Always a danger these days that too many gullible NUFC supporters will happily be blindly led by the media who are simply out for mischief with Newcastle United.

Alternatively, is it a case of ‘happy clappers’ who refuse to accept how United are letting us down far too often at crucial times?

That is the case when Eddie Howe and his Newcastle United players have a ‘big’ game, a key important game, they are

I thought that a bit of fact-checking was in in order.

Premier League big six

When playing the ‘big six’ this season in all competitions, this is the record so far, including Man City 4-0 on Saturday.

Played 11 Won 7 Drawn 2 Lost 2 Goals Scored 18 Goals Conceded 12

The Cups this season

Played 8 Won 8 Drawn 0 Lost 0 Goals Scored 17 Goals Conceded 5

Overall results this season

Played 33 Won 20 Drawn 5 Lost 8

Conclusions after fact-checking

I get the feeling that the uber critics amongst the Newcastle United fanbase, who insist we have been constantly let down when it comes to ‘big’ games, are only willing to count the ‘big’ games that Newcastle end up losing.

The ‘big’ games that Eddie Howe and his players end up winning, or perform well and end up drawing (Liverpool and Man City at home this season), apparently aren’t allowed to be taken into consideration.

There is also this spin on things, that they build our hopes up at times, only to then finally dash those hopes. I think that is called…football. All teams win AND lose football matches, that is how it goes. As a fan you simply hope your team wins as many as possible, only Liverpool have won more matches than Newcastle United in domestic competition this season, United winning two more than Arsenal, four more than Man City and Forest, at least six more than all the other Premier League teams. United have won 61% of their games so far this season, losing only 24%.

When you talk about key matches, surely nothing could be much more ‘key’ and high pressure than cup semi-finals. United won 2-0 home AND away against Arsenal, the clear second best team in the country this season, who are second favourites to win the Champions League. Why don’t these matches count when it comes to Newcastle United supposedly not turning up for the big games? Always letting us down etc etc allegedly?

Indeed, this run to the final, has seen us defeat three of the teams who were in the top four of the Premier League as we headed into this latest weekend’s of PL fixtures.

Man U in the 2023 final is held up by many of these Newcastle United fans as a prime example of Eddie Howe and the players letting us down when it really mattered. Some people talk as though NUFC had been in an endless run of finals, of success, rather than it having been our first final in 24 years. You then also have the minor detail that Newcastle beat four other PL clubs in the run to that final, including winning the home AND away legs of the semi-final. Even in that final, it was a very even first half where ASM and Burn had great chances when they should have scored, whilst emergency third choice keeper let in two goals that Pope would have prevented, then in the second half Newcastle were by far the better team but just couldn’t get the goal to get back into it. Man U finished third that season in the league, not like Newcastle got beat off no-hopers.

The cup defeat at Chelsea last season is another of those moments held up as the fans supposedly let down. This totally ignores the fact that we were caught at our very worst moment for the sheer number of players missing and so many matches to play with the same very small group of players, including a 17 year old in midfield. Even then, United did so well and led Chelsea into those final seconds.

The daftness though of going so critical about ‘letting us down’, is perfectly summed up by the FACT, that Newcastle were only playing at Stamford Bridge due to defeating all conquering Man City and then thrashing Man U 3-0 at Old Trafford in the previous rounds. It is laughable that results like these are ‘forgotten’ about when weighing up whether or nor Eddie Howe and his players turn up for big/key matches.

Very final conclusion after fact-checking

There is only one way (well, I suppose one of two ways…) that these Newcastle United fans will be kept happy.

Either Newcastle United stop ‘letting us down in big games’ and simply win every single match they play, or they stop going on excellent runs of results and so then there are no raised expectations whatsover for them to ‘let us down’ from.

Manchester City 4 Newcastle 0 – Saturday 15 February 2025 3pm

Goals:

Man City:

Marmoush 19, 24, 33 McAtee 84

Possession was Newcastle 39% Man City 61%

Total shots were Newcastle 3 Man City 11

Shots on target were Newcastle 1 Man City 7

Corners were Newcastle 4 Man City 7

Touches in the box Newcastle 10 Man City 24

Newcastle team v Man City:

Dubravka, Trippier (Livramento 46), Schar, Burn, Hall, Bruno (Longstaff 72), Tonali, Willock (Miley 46), Gordon (Wilson 73), Isak (Krafth 90), Murphy

Subs:

Pope, Barnes, Targett, Osula

(If that’s the way you feel just hand in your Carabao Cup final tickets here – Read HERE)

(Manchester City 4 Newcastle 0 – Match ratings and comments on all Newcastle United players – Read HERE)

(Manchester City 4 Newcastle 0 – Instant Newcastle United fan/writer reaction – Read HERE)

Sunday 23 February – Newcastle v Forest (2pm) Sky Sports

Wednesday 26 February – Liverpool v Newcastle (8.15pm) TNT Sports

Sunday 2 March –  Newcastle v Brighton (1.45pm) FA Cup fifth round – ITV1

Monday 10 March – West Ham v Newcastle (8pm) Sky Sports