Newcastle United’s biggest strength is their new and exciting approach to defending

A far cry from their unwanted record setting 2021 where the Magpies conceded 80 goals in the calendar year, Newcastle currently find themselves with the best defensive record in England having conceded just 11 times all season. The next best record comes from table-toppers Arsenal who have conceded three more than Newcastle having played one game less.

It is a stunning turnaround from Eddie Howe’s side, one that can be attributed to efforts of the whole team. They press from the front, disrupt the opposition in attack and don’t allow their opponents to dictate play.

And when the opposition do manage to break through this press, they are met with a back four that have been nothing short of sensational all season. Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schar, Sven Botman and Dan Burn all have individual roles to play that contribute to a solid defensive unit.

Whether it’s the experience and know-how of Trippier on the right, the calmness of Schar, the physical presence of Botman or determination and composure of Burn, the defence all complement each other perfectly. They are the reason strikers have found it very difficult to find the net against Newcastle this season.

Traditionally, watching United defend has not been a pleasant sight, with every attack came a sense of dread. Now though, in their own weird way, Newcastle make defending look easy and, at times, enjoyable.

Of course there are last-ditch tackles and throwing bodies in-front of shots, but that is all part of what makes this defence so good to watch. It’s clear they all simply love defending and will put their bodies on the line to keep a clean sheet.

It’s symptomatic of this Howe side - they will do anything and everything to get three points from every game they play. This is something that is made a lot easier when they can attack the opposition knowing they have the most solid of foundations to build on.

Normally, this would be where I’d write something along the lines of ‘and when the defence is breached, the opposition are faced with having to beat Nick Pope’ - but in truth, that simply hasn’t happened enough to warrant a few hundred words on. Racking my brains and other than a smart save to deny Eddie Nketiah late on at the Emirates Stadium, I genuinely can’t think of the last time Pope was called into action to save the team.

And that really, is the perfect summation of Newcastle’s new approach to defending. They start at the front and do it all across the pitch, without ever looking like being threatened.

For a manager that was criticised for not being able to organise a defence during his time at Bournemouth, Howe has done more than alright on Tyneside - learning from Diego Simeone certainly would have helped this new focus. The dark days of a passive approach to defending are over - and Newcastle are all the better for it.