Newcastle's problem in recent times has been getting the job done against so-called lesser teams. This Saturday, they proved they absolutely can do it against so-called Leicester teams.

From Gordon to Burn via Murphy, Hall, and Sandro Tonali there were quite a few eye-catching performances but it's impossible to know what it all means because the opposition were so feeble on the day.

Brentford will provide a stiffer test in the Carabao Cup quarter-final on Wednesday night, but one thing we will have now is a good win in our sails.

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The Premier League is a bit crazy this year. Bar one or two teams at the top, and one or two at the bottom, it's a massive bunfight with everyone beating each other week to week.

With that in mind, we should all react reasonably when we go to the team with the best home record and get turned over. Except this wasn't exactly that; this one needs some context.

Oh, by the way. Has anyone seen Chris?

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Newcastle and Liverpool served up another Premier League classic, drawing three all at St James's Park on Wednesday night.

Eddie Howe's side looked close to their aggressive best, pressing and harrying the league leaders, creating chances, and scoring some lovely goals.

But, there's always Salah, and that nagging sense that we can only get ourselves to 100% for the big games. Where was this intensity against West Ham?

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Jacob Whitehead was at Selhurst Park on Saturday, because of course he was. Sadly for him, Newcastle were distinctly gummy.

Masochists can read Jacob's full match report here...

In fact, the whole affair was so disheartening we've postponed this week's episode until after the midweek fixture against, **checks notes**... oh dear!

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What is this feeling, we all wondered... squad strength, three wins on the bounce, and a seemingly hapless West Ham trekking North on a chilly Monday night. Ah yes, confidence!

Unfortunately, confidence and Newcastle United have never been great bedfellows, and so it was again. Bruno lost another coin toss, Howe's side spurned the few good chances they managed to create, shipped two bad goals, and then slid into second half chaos.

The Lasses didn't fare any better, losing 6-1 to Liverpool in the league cup. Could that be a sharpener in a competitive season? It'll take a while to find out, the fixture list is looking very bare over the next few weeks.

More info on Run Geordie Run and his 2025 t-shirts can be found here.

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There are still five days left in what feels like an even-longer-than-usual international break. Chris is so sick of it, he's literally sick.

A few of Newcastle's players may not take quite such a dim view, though. Oli Kay drops by to consider whether Newcastle is now the place to be for England hopefuls with Anthony Gordon getting his first goal at Wembley while Hall and Livramento made their senior bows.

The Lasses(TM) didn't have it all their own way at St James's Park. In fact, Southampton had much the better of the first half and it took a 99th minute equaliser from Deanna Cooper to rescue a point in front of a loud, proud, but slightly smaller than hoped crowd.

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"The best all-round away performance from Eddie Howe's side in a long, long time", says Chris Waugh. Newcastle's dominant second-half performance at the City Ground has us looking optimistically at the top four in a concertina'd Premier League table.

Joelinton was at the core of everything on Sunday, so we have to talk about him and his magnificent goal, but the defence was good again and substitutes Tonali and Barnes produced real impact as well. Shame the international break arrives now... or is it?

And, The Lasses TM will be hoping to bounce straight back from their first real disappointment of the season at Bristol City when they welcome Southampton to St James's Park this coming Sunday.

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Grab a lazy breakfast on the way to work, stick an extra mile or two on your dog-walk, extend the timer on 'do not disturb', it's a marathon podcast to recap an epic week.

Eddie Howe's Mags are BACK. Barnstorming home wins over Chelsea and Arsenal, and the manner of our play, means the gaffer can really celebrate his third anniversary in charge.

Two red-hot alumni are up next for the lads, but Hayles and Lumsden are really on fire for The Lasses TM who got a magnificent win at Championship pace-setters Birmingham J City.

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It's a (very loosely) Halloween themed show this week, with most of the team blowing raspberries in foggy London town. Newcastle's defence were scared stiff by Cole Palmer in a Saturday horror show at Stamford Bridge.

Can Howe exorcise the ghost in the machine, or will the Pensioners be back to haunt us again at St James's Park on Wednesday? Meanwhile, Chris Waugh finds himself in a deserted hotel with a giant striker making the most of what time he has left playing football.

...And we revisit mutually exclusive memories of Arsenal contests past with special guest, host of The Athletic's "Handbrake Off" Arsenal podcast, comedian Ian Stone.

(Ian's tour dates, including tickets for his Newcastle date on November 16th can be found on his website.)

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It was the sort of weekend that needs an extra day to get over. Eddie Howe's men dominated the first half hour (or hour, depending on who you ask) against Brighton. They played some of their best football of the season so far, and created a hatful of chances.

Unfortunately, they didn't score any of them and lost.

On Sunday, Becky Langley's Lasses squared up to well fancied Charlton Athletic in the Women's Championship, played electric football on the break, and Shania Hayles continued her hot form streak by scoring our first ever hat-trick at this level.

Unfortunately, we lost the skipper to a second yellow and conceded twice in injury time to drop two points.

The Lasses have a week off now for internationals, while the men head to Chelsea this coming weekend. Can we find our scoring boots and get one over on our rivals for the European places at a ground where joy has been few and far between?

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There's only one buzzword doing the rounds this week, after Beth Lumsden scored both goals to fire Newcastle's women to victory at the Stadium of Light, banishing the agony of last week's defeat against Durham.

Meanwhile, the threat of an offer to Eddie Howe from England is gone for a while, at least, with the appointment of Thomas Tuchel to the Three Lions. Might that bode well for the international prospects of some Newcastle players?

Howe's squad will reunite this week to prepare for Brighton, for whom Newcastle "old boy" Yankuba Minteh seems to be enjoying his new surroundings. He has that in common with another ex-Mag, now at Toronto FC. Matty Longstaff has been speaking to Chris.

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