Eddie Howe bristled at questions on his team selection just moments after Newcastle United's away support made their feelings clear

Just six months on from what some considered to be the beginning of the end for Eddie Howe at Newcastle United, the Magpies will hardly roll into Selhurst Park like a team to be feared this weekend.

They will try to bounce back from the defeats against Coventry City and Aston Villa at a venue that United last won at back in 2020 during a lockdown game under Steve Bruce. But last April's 2-1 defeat, which featured a late capitulation with two goals in the last 10 minutes for Palace, resulted in some fans making their feelings clear to Howe.

As the team stood in front of the 3,000 away fans, they were forced to absorb individual shouts of discontent with the supporters unwilling to turn as a group on the man who guided them to the Carabao Cup in 2025. But that day it was clear that Howe was reaching the end of his tenure and his patience on Tyneside.

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It was that afternoon that Howe had opted to leave out £124m pair Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade, telling Chronicle Live after the game: "I don't pick the team based on transfer fees. I pick the team based on what I see."

And that might have been fine had Newcastle held on to their 1-0 lead given to them by William Osula that afternoon. But it set the tone for a flat finish to the season, with failure to qualify for Europe, leaving Howe under immense pressure.

The £124m issue is still haunting Newcastle with Wissa out of form and Woltemade out the door, remarkably eyebrows were raised when Osula was named in from the start that day, but six months on he is now first choice when fit.

The defeat left Howe in a difficult position after crashing out of all the cups and then out of the race for Europe.

It did not cost him his job in truth, but that afternoon pretty much cost him control of transfers as expensive loanee Aaron Ramsdale at £4m was deemed a flop and Woltemade and Wissa's fees were questioned with a lack of a sporting director present. Newcastle now head back to Croydon with Matthias Jaissle in charge, but scrutiny is still very much in the air at St James' Park.

Jaissle started well and still retains healthy backing, but questions are being asked about his formation and style of play. People are struggling to understand what he really meant by "vertical football", with many now feeling his approach is the old long ball game.

I'm still not convinced that supporters are unhappy about that, and any repeat of the infamous dugout scene of Sam Allardyce against Liverpool in 2007 does not seem close. Big Sam left Newcastle frustrated after being branded a "long ball merchant" and was soon replaced by Kevin Keegan.

But reacting to crowd noises is a big mistake, and Mike Ashley found that out the expensive way because, as much as Keegan made a welcome return in the eyes of fans, his lack of tactical acumen was there for all to see behind the scenes, and the game had moved on, hence the arrival of Chris Hughton soon after as a more modern coach.

However, as things stand, I don't believe the feeling on Tyneside is anything too negative about Jaissle. A bit of social media noise and jumpy reporting this week aside, there is no doubt that Newcastle fans seem to like the German head coach.

A couple of results are needed though and a win at Palace followed by progress in the Carabao Cup at Everton will hush some doubters. But it's easy saying that, Newcastle need to start showing their best side on the pitch.

They look uncertain at the back and are toothless in attack, two major things Jaissle must fix quickly. Ironically, half of Howe's problem at Selhurst Park is no longer available for selection in Woltemade, who is now at Juventus on loan. Wissa could be dropped and Jaissle may end up with Osula starting in attack again.

For all that many things have changed since Howe looked haunted as he faced the away end that day, a lot of things remain the same. Jaissle spoke about choosing the right time to "smash the dressing room up" when he took over. I hope that he does it before the teams walk out at Selhurst Park this weekend.