Newcastle might be hot favourites for a quick return to the Premier League under Rafa Benitez, but they made an uninspiring start to their season with a 1-0 defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage on Friday. The Championship is going to be demanding, writes Adam Bate.
Rafa Benitez spoke of Newcastle's "great future" beforehand, but there are signs that the present could prove more of a problem after the Championship favourites suffered a 1-0 defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage on the opening day of the Football League season.
Matt Smith's first-half header from Tom Cairney's left-wing corner was enough to separate the sides and while Benitez pointed to a strong penalty claim against Ryan Tunnicliffe for handball prior to that, the Newcastle boss stopped short of blaming the referee.
"I wouldn't make any excuses," he said. "We have to carry on and be better." That was the inescapable conclusion on a night that highlighted the difficulties ahead for his team.
There had certainly been a celebratory mood in the build-up. The visiting Newcastle supporters in their Alan Shearer shirts marched through Bishops Park, packed out the Putney End and didn't even wait for kick-off before bringing out the Barmy Army chants.
Rarely can a side have come down while retaining such a feel-good factor, but that shows the impression Benitez has made on these fans since arriving in the spring. The odds of 7/4 for Newcastle to win the title are a reflection of the widespread faith in him and his team.
It's a side bolstered by the signings of Matt Ritchie, Dwight Gayle and Grant Hanley among many others and that trio's experience of the Championship, as Benitez pointed out afterwards, is part of the reason why this defeat might not have been anticipated.
Benitez himself is a wily old campaigner having won promotions previously as a coach with Extremadura and Tenerife. "They have a very experienced coach," said his counterpart Slavisa Jokanovic afterwards. "I don't believe I discovered them something new."
Even so, another Jokanovic line was revealing. "We were ready for Newcastle," he added. "But we're not ready for the season." He was referring to the size of his squad but it could easily have applied to the occasion. Fulham raised their game against the favourites.
This was the biggest attendance at Craven Cottage since the club's relegation from the top flight more than two years ago and it showed in the atmosphere. The clapping devices in the stands generated a raucous noise and it was matched by the frenzied tempo on the field.
At times, Newcastle seemed to struggle with it. Fulham had the better passing accuracy in the first half and won more duels throughout. The home goalkeeper David Button made one fine save from Ritchie low down but no other Newcastle player managed a shot on target.
"I think we didn't play at the level we expected," said Benitez afterwards. "We weren't keeping the ball in attack, we weren't winning second balls and we were defending too deep … We weren't concentrating as we have to do."
Of course, these are hardly new problems for Newcastle. Indeed, for the visiting fans it will have been a reminder that many of these players have struggled before. There was more than mere misfortune to the club's relegation, after all.
Daryl Janmaat is a player with a reputation but he was outperformed by Fulham's debutant right-back Denis Odoi. On the other wing, Scott Malone was superior to Paul Dummett. Meanwhile, it was Kevin McDonald who was the dominant figure in the middle of the park.
Jonjo Shelvey is prone to passes of varying accuracy in any division and while Gayle is a threat running into space, little was afforded him here. Fulham, for their part, have one of the Championship's smaller squads but could still bring on ex-England man Scott Parker.
In fact, there was a smattering of boos for Parker, a former Magpies midfielder, from the travelling Newcastle support but it was a chant from the home end that might prove more pertinent. "We're going to win the league," they exclaimed.
It was light-hearted giddiness rather than braggadocio but is it so outlandish? Margins are fine in the Championship and Fulham's Sone Aluko had warned Newcastle on the eve of the match of the dangers of coming out on the wrong side of those margins.
"In a bad week," Aluko told Sky Sports, "you end up losing three games. That doesn't happen in the Premier League." The adjustment period will need to be swift. Next month alone, Newcastle must face Derby, Queens Park Rangers, Wolves, Aston Villa and Norwich.
Of course, Benitez won't panic and there's no reason to. Reading broke the record points total for an English league season - a whopping 106 - after losing their first Championship game of the season. And yet, that looks a long way off for this much-fancied side right now.
Benitez's mantra will be a simple one. "We have to keep working," he insisted afterwards. "The only positive is that it is the beginning of the season. We have to wake up."
Friday's defeat might have done that. It came to a chorus of "Who are you?" chants from their opponents' fans and the Newcastle supporters will be keener than anyone to find out exactly what Benitez's men are made of. We'll know how great that future is soon enough.
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