Interesting to read these comments from BBC Sport after Newcastle United lost 3-1 to Brentford.
The comments from neutral people in particular tell…
It was very different to what Newcastle United fans had come to expect from BBC Sport’s ‘neutrals’.
BBC Sport comments from neutrals in the past have largely been a catalog of abuse directed at NUFC supporters.
Particularly stuff about the owners of Newcastle United and the media-inspired fuss that NUFC fans have become accustomed to when they are blamed for who now owns their club.
On this occasion the politics were almost entirely absent and instead focused on matters on the pitch and many neutral players enjoyed seeing Newcastle United lose a game!
The BBC Sport readers comments of neutral people, some Brentford fans, plus the odd Newcastle supporter (and very strange Sunderland fans, including those pretending to be Newcastle fans…) who also contribute:
‘Eddie Howe has changed the mentality and culture at the club. He has developed existing players and has been a great spokesperson for this club during a transition period.
He got it wrong today, but he has done more than just improve the club, and his impact is much bigger than just the players we signed.”
‘What exactly did Eddie Howe achieve?
A carabao Cup in the four years he has been there…
Any other club would have been sold by now.
The ownership at Newcastle clearly lacks ambition.’
“Tell us you don’t know anything about football without saying you don’t know anything about football.”
“The punishment was a dive, unless you’re on another planet.”
‘I completely agree and I’m not biased.’
‘It depends what planet you are on! Most observers on Earth agree it was a punishment.”
‘He dived… twice. Cheat.’
“Howe was at fault because Burn were clearly under attack and struggling and we had Hall on the bench who wouldn’t have been beaten in terms of pace by the Brentford players trying to get into the box and fall over.”
‘Haha. Your players couldn’t avoid falling over in the first half when you were ahead… Funny how that all stopped when we equalized, and even more so after our second and third goals. Dan Burn was well off the pace and looked uncomfortable throughout the match. Well deserved 3 points for the mighty bees.’
‘Howe has somewhat improved a club that struggled for years with spending a lot of money?’
‘Newcastle were 1-0 up at half-time. All they had to do was concentrate and finish the match. Burn made a big mistake, yes, but the usually reliable Botman made two.
You can’t predict that or legislate for it. You don’t drop your best defender because he could make two stupid mistakes that he normally never makes. You can’t plan matches afterwards.’
‘Brentford, a tough, honest, down-to-earth football club…brilliant!!’
‘I don’t think it was a penalty, but I could understand it if the first one was given
I didn’t even touch it the second time.”
‘Agreed. The first was minimal contact and would not have been reversed regardless of the initial decision.
However, with the second there was no contact whatsoever.’
‘The first challenge was a penalty and no yellow card for the Brentford player.
The second challenge was no penalty and no yellow card for Dan Burn!!! Ridiculous referee…’
‘Burn is a CH. must not be ‘forced’ to play out of position. It doesn’t help his international prospects either!
Play 1352 for God’s sake!
Pope;
Thiaw, Botman, Branden;
Trippier (Livramento when fit!), Bruno, Tonali, Joelinton, Hall; Barnes, Woltemade. (With Wissa replacing Woltemade if it ever fits!)
Then we might have a chance to compete.’
‘A very good win from Brentford after going behind and having most of their good players sold. The replacements were very good.’
‘The defensive midfield is key to protecting the back four, just as it was for Liverpool’s title-winning side. When the midfield is not there, the defense looks different, but it is the midfield that normally does not do its job.’
‘Rumours of Brentford’s demise are greatly exaggerated’
“The team needs speed, waltemade is not the answer, he is not nearly as good as Isak.”
‘Thanks Brentford. Much the better team. Newcastle are in a relegation battle this season. Bless.’
‘The most surprising figure for me was that this was Dan Burn’s first red card in 12 years.’
‘The credit must go to Brentford. Didn’t deserve to be behind at half-time, but didn’t hang their heads. A really positive achievement.’
‘Botman should have been replaced by Hall at half-time and Burn to CB. That second half felt inevitable.’
‘A real Premier League scrap, with Brentford simply hungrier than Newcastle in the end.’
‘This is going to be a hugely unpopular comment as the Brentford fans are rightly on their feet after their win, but something really needs to be done about this homer serving the Gtech, i.e. on the pitch and VAR. Their match against Man U also comes to mind. And where was the expert on the pen error that corrected the error they didn’t get? Both were clear dives!! And to send Burn away?!”
‘Gentle on the pen, but it makes a difference when you make decisions against the so-called ‘bigger clubs’, they get less and less.’
“If you look closely, he never touched it for the pen.”
Brentford 3 Newcastle 1 – Sunday 9 November 2025 2pm
Match statistics
Goals:
Newcastle United:
Barnes 27, red card 73
Brentford:
Damage 56, Thiago 78 pen, 90+5
Possess was Newcastle 51% Brentford 49%
Total shots were Newcastle 5 Brentford 15
Shots on target were Newcastle 1 Brentford 7
Corners were Newcastle 2 Brentford 6
Touches in the opposition box Newcastle 16 Brentford 35
Newcastle team vs Brentford:
Pope (Ramsdale 77), Trippier, Thiaw, Botman, Burn, Bruno (Miley 96), Joelinton (Ramsey 24), Tonali (Willock 77), Murphy (Elanga 77), Woltemade, Barnes (Hal 77)
subtitles:
Ramsdale, Schar, Lascelles, Krafth
#BBC #Sport #neutrals #commentary #Newcastle #United #Brentfords #defeat