Former Newcastle United star Steve Howey believes that the current Magpies side are much more defensive in nature compared to the teams he was part of.

Howey spent eleven years at Newcastle and was part of the exciting sides managed by Kevin Keegan in the mid-1990s, who were known for being entertainers.  

 



Newcastle scored 175 times across the 1995/96 and 1996/97 seasons and were known for playing on the front foot and scoring goals, despite missing out on a golden chance to win the league title to Manchester United.

But the current look of the Newcastle side is very different and since the Rafael Benitez days, they have been known for their defensive solidity and their inability to regularly find the back of the net.
 


Howey that the theme at St. James’ Park is very different compared to the teams he played in.



While he insisted that those sides also had good defenders, Newcastle emphasised playing attacking football and the current team’s first preference is mostly to sit back and soak up pressure.

The former Magpie told The Athletic: “This current side is different. They are set up to be strong defensively, playing with five at the back, which is something we rarely did.
 

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“Newcastle are strongest at centre-back, where they have strength in depth.

“When [Ciaran] Clark could be considered your sixth centre-back, someone who is experienced in the Premier League and is an international, then it tells you how well off you are in that area.

“We had good defenders, but we were encouraged to attack.

“Newcastle now have good defenders and the focus is on defending; that’s the key difference.”

Newcastle have scored just eleven goals in their opening 12 league games this season.