We haven't felt like this in a while; perhaps not since West Ham (h) last season. It's possible today was even worse than that. Was it our worst performance under Howe?

Despite playing a team incapable of winning at home, despite the air of mutiny amongst home fans in Stratford, despite going the length of the field in 26 seconds to take the lead after Bowen hit the post early, Newcastle somehow contrived to lose on the road again!

There's bad, then there's worse, then there's several hundred feet of excrement, and then this. Commence the inquest.

Hallowe'en it may be, but love is in the air on Pod on the Tyne this week.

George loves the pub. "Don't we all!?" you say. Not this much. He REALLY loves the pub. Eddie Howe's team love the league cup, and they love beating Spurs at St James's Park. They usually love going to West Ham as well (fingers crossed).

Taylor loves Sandro Tonali. And Fabian Schar. And Bruno. And the rest of them, tbf. But, mostly he loves Sandro Tonali.

Newcastle's three sporting titans, the Magpies, the Eagles, and the F... Red Bulls, put together what (in the interests of a convoluted metaphor) we're loosely calling a coach-matchmaking service to share tips and tricks as they develop the next generation of Northeast sporting talent.

Chris loves sausages.

Newcastle after a Champions League fixture; not a pretty story on the whole. That's not to say they painted a beautiful picture on Saturday at St James's Park, but they got the job done.

Captain Bruno arrived late in the box, late in the day, to follow up Osula's saved effort and find the corner. It provides a huge boost to a team still finding its feet this season, and hopefully a platform for a fruitful trio of games against London teams.

Sad news this week as Becky Langley, the pioneering head coach of Newcastle's women's team, was relieved of her duties. We hear from Amanda Staveley on Becky's legacy.

Sandro Tonali's stay at Newcastle already has a longer shelf life after it emerged he signed an updated contract during his twelve-month gambling ban.

And, after Eddie Howe's slightly re-arranged eleven put Benfica to the gravy sword, we consider who might take on Fulham on Saturday and whether we can replicate the last two European results in the Premier League.

Newcastle returned to Brighton's Amex Arena on the south coast (as did Chris Waugh) and their rotten record continues despite the best efforts of Nick Woltemade.

A poor first half saw Howe's men trailing, but the giant german produced a moment of golden-heeled inspiration to equalise. Sadly, that was the extent of Geordie joy on the day; Danny Welbeck got his second to restore the lead and the hosts held on for all three points.

Lots of questions now as we head into the Champions League against Benfica. Will Howe ring the changes? Who's going to put their hand up to help Nick out a bit? And, can Chris learn to describe music?

Another weekly Pod on the Tyne rolls around and, with many of the lads away on international duty, you'd think it'd be a quiet one. How wrong you are, friend!

Newcastle United now have a CEO AND a Sporting Director after they agreed a deal to bring Nottingham Forest's Ross Wilson to the North East. Chris has all the gen on our new football supremo.

Our Athletic duo (the capital A is crucial) have been working incredibly hard putting together an in-depth written article on the current state of the club's academy. George actually had to have the day off from podcasting today, but not before he delivered us a very interesting conversation with Steve Harper.

The Lasses (TM) are winless at home, which nobody expected in October, but all is not lost. George was at the Gateshead International Stadium on Sunday to see how the much-changed squad is coming together. Chris is off to Brighton again this week, but he isn't taking his light sabre this time.

The September international break is an absurdity; great to see that (after George's comments on a recent PotT) the authorities are doing away with it (definitely related).

But, the October break has a different feel. We're almost quarter of the way through the season... the Champions League campaign has started, and Newcastle players are dropping like flies.

It's not the same as our last European adventure, though. Eddie Howe's squad is a little deeper, giving us a bit more flexibility and, unlike the start of the season, we have a striker. So, what do we make of the season so far? Let's find out.

Plenty of intriguing angles going into Newcastle United v Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon. Both teams played in Europe in midweek, Ange Postecoglu under pressure just three weeks into his new job, and the home attack struggling to spark…

…Not that Nick Woltemade’s stats would fit that particular narrative. A penalty saw the German forward score in each of his first three home games for Newcastle, becoming just the third man to do so after Alan Shearer and Les Ferdinand. It was Bruno who broke the deadlock with a curled effort after good work from Dan Burn, and a 2-0 win rounded off a great week for the lads.

...A better result for The Lasses™, too, although they left it very late indeed at Crystal Palace. Trailing 2-0 with ten minutes of normal time; Oona Sevenius opened her Newcastle account before Morgan Gautrat's Olimpico hit the net eight minutes into injury time!

Newcastle United haven't scored many goals so far this season, especially away from home, but on Wednesday night they put four past Belgian champions Union Saint-Gilloise and with relative ease.

Nick Woltemade has been the source of some "salty" comments from Bayern-related figures over the last few days, but he opened the scoring with a deft flick which he definitely meant. Anthony Gordon scored two penalties and sub Harvey Barnes completed the rout, while Elanga was a threat all evening.

In terms of The Lasses, it's been a tough start to the season and they travel to Palace on Sunday to face last season's WSL basement club. The Lads, meanwhile, face Forest who have a familiar figure running the show in midfield.

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