10 hours ago
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West Ham supporters were almost in disbelief.
Their side had not long come from behind to go 2-1 up against Newcastle United when gallows humour swept across the London Stadium.
"How bad must you be?" thousands of fans asked in unison as the first half drew to a close. "We're winning at home!"
The language was slightly stronger, of course, but for the first time in in nearly nine months, West Ham were on course for a home victory.
Substitute Tomas Soucek made sure of that when he bundled in his side's third goal in stoppage time.
But Newcastle's fate was already as good as sealed by then.
To think this was a team fresh from three significant home victories in three different competitions against Tottenham, Fulham and Benfica.
But Eddie Howe's side have looked a different animal away from St James' Park, failing to win an away league game since April.
"Forget my name, it didn't look like a Newcastle team we have seen in recent seasons," the head coach said after Sunday's 3-1 defeat.
This was a result few saw coming.
Struggling West Ham may have had an extended period to prepare for this game, but Newcastle have the luxury of a deep squad.
Howe made six changes from the midweek win against Spurs and was able to recall heavyweight figures in Nick Pope, Sven Botman, Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton, Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon.
But you would not have known it.
Though Newcastle players technically covered more distance - 116.85km in all - they did not look their usual intense selves after Murphy gave them an early lead.
The visitors repeatedly gave the ball away. The midfield three, often lauded as one of the best in the league, failed to take control of the game. The hallmarks of this side - pace and power in all areas of the field - were absent.
"I didn't like the body language of the group," Howe said.
Goalkeeper Pope had to make big saves to deny both Lucas Paqueta and Max Kilman, before West Ham levelled, but those warnings failed to awaken Newcastle from their slumber.
By the time Paqueta scored, an equaliser had long been coming.
At home, Newcastle would have pushed for more after taking such an early lead. At London Stadium, they gave West Ham and the crowd encouragement by failing to kick on.
Rather than turning on their side, before staging a sit-in protest against the board after the game, West Ham supporters instead sensed a way back into it.
"The fans saw something from the team," said West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo. "This is what we want. This is how we should look at the situation.
"How can we as a team show to our fans that we want to fight, that we want to change the situation, that we want to make things tough for our opponents."
Howe had long since seen enough by the time Botman turned Aaron Wan-Bissaka's cross into his own net just before the interval.
The Newcastle head coach hauled off Emil Krafth, Nick Woltemade and Gordon at half-time, but he could have used all of his five permitted changes there and then.
"I almost could have taken anyone off," he said. "That was a reflection of where we were in that moment in the game and it's very rare for me to feel that way. I don't think I have since I've been manager of Newcastle.
"I felt the team needed some shaking up at half-time. That's why I did what I did."
Yet it did not have the desired effect. Newcastle are now winless in their past eight away league games.
Newcastle have travelled to some testing grounds in that time, but Howe's side have now failed to beat Aston Villa (twice), Brighton (twice), Bournemouth, Arsenal, Leeds United and West Ham.
For context, only Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Wolves have picked up fewer points than Newcastle (three) on the road this season.
No wonder Howe shared some "honest" words with his players after the game.
But the head coach was wary of overeacting, instead hoping this particular loss finally proves a turning point on the road.
A similar defeat in London certainly did nearly a year ago when Newcastle were thumped by Brentford.
It was a result which left Newcastle languishing in the lower half of the table, where they again find themselves now.
Newcastle went on to win seven games in a row in all competitions, including impressive away victories against Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United.
And they will certainly need to summon that spirit once more when they return to the Gtech Community Stadium next week.
"People say look in the mirror but we just go home and reflect," goalscorer Murphy said on Sky Sports. "This is a moment where you really do need to stay calm.
"Let's not be too reactive. We know we have to put things right."
