Newcastle's secret weapon is the Swarm, and rivals are powerless to stop it

Eddie Howe has made Newcastle arguably the most energetic team in the Premier League. on the verge of securing a place in the Champions League by playing an exciting style of football — a ruthless, energetic, risky and highly paid approach.

Newcastle never ceases to pressure, harass and harass opposing teams when they are not in possession of the ball, while like their forefoot, versatile style also requires the highest levels of fitness as well as smart tactics.

Telegraph Sport spoke to the coaching staff and players to learn about the work done at the training ground that has made Newcastle arguably the most energetic team in the Premier League.

'The Swarm'

Newcastle United's ability to put pressure on teams deep in their own half of the field and tack the ball away from the field was a complete change in tactics implemented at the behest of Howe last summer.

They became one of the best in Europe at this, putting pressure on their opponents and attacking from both flanks and through the center, in a perpetual state of motion.

This can make teams dizzy and confused, but it's not the way they play or the angles of their pressing that break teams, it's the fact that it doesn't stop them. Newcastle just keep attacking you until your resistance is broken, physically and mentally.

It's like trying to hold back a swarm of black and white wasps when every player has a stinger. They are strong and tough. They can also be vicious, enjoying physical contact.

At the end of last season, Howe told the coaching staff that he wanted to completely change the team's style of play. According to sources, it was a very risky move, but Howe was adamant he wanted to give the Newcastle fans a team that would excite them.

After three years of Rafa Benítez's pragmatism, with Newcastle training relentlessly to learn how to play off the ball and looking to hit the team with quick and direct counter-attacks, Newcastle's players have become accustomed to sitting deep, defending their area, often with a defender. five, and hope to lure teams to them.

This system was largely maintained by Steve Bruce for two full seasons at St. James Park. The two managers, despite their widely varying popularity at Tyneside, have amassed the same number of points in two full seasons using this method.

Howe originally followed the same plan to avoid relegation last season, but this year they impressed the teams with their energetic football. The era of swarm attacks has begun.

Better and stronger

To play the swarm attack system, Newcastle players must be better and stronger than almost all of their opponents. It's easier said than done in the Premier League. Newcastle are not the only team trying to play at the forefront. This is where Howe excelled with the support of his coaching staff, Jason Tyndall, Graham Jones and Stephen Purches. One of his first assignments when he arrived was the new head of sports science, Dan Hodges.

There's an unofficial mantra among the coaching team: there's the uniform, and then there's "Howe's uniform." Players like Bruno Guimarares, Alexander Isak and most recently Anthony Gordon, who arrived without a full pre-season, struggled to pick up the pace of the team at first.

They had to be brought up to speed before starting regularly . This testifies to the grueling nature of training, as well as the workload they carry with them on match day.

Newcastle will outplay you and pass you if you let them, the speed with which they get back into defensive form is just as impressive as the speed and fluidity of their offense.

When asked if some of the players tried to meet the requirements of Howe's regime, the Newcastle manager replied: «Definitely, I would say.» I have to praise the sports science team. Dan Hodges heads the department and I've been with him for a long time.

“We are very much in agreement with each other on what we think we need and how we should work with players. I hope the players see the fruits of all this hard work.”

A brutal pre-season 'beasting' sessions

There is a story told backstage by the players in St. James Park about a field in Austria that almost broke them and a practice so hard that the players couldn't move from where they passed out for several minutes.

Howe intentionally kept the details of what was going to happen during their training camp a secret.

After a light workout in the morning, the players were told that they would run all over the field again and again in the afternoon. They weren't told how long, they were just told they couldn't stop until they were ordered to.

Pre-season shuttle runs are nothing new, nor is it hard to run with players. Players have always disliked them, but those who took part in Howe's «animal session» were overwhelmed by its intensity.

As fatigue set in and brains began to weaken after repeated exercises, some members of the coaching team wanted to give the players a short break so that they could take fluids. Howe and Tyndall stepped in to stop them from doing so, encouraging the players to help each other in their torment.

They did just that. This helped hold the team together, even though someone good-naturedly cursed their manager at the time.

«The pre-season was as important as ever,» Howe told Telegraph Sport. “It's when you set the marker for how you want to play.

“There is a physical cost to the players, so it was inconvenient for them. They are taken out of their comfort zone, pushed. I don't find it funny, but they are being pushed to increase their fitness levels. That is where the foundations are laid.

“The attitude towards this work was very good, and I think that as the season went on we got better. We looked better and better, especially at the end of games. I looked at us and thought: «We are really strong.»

“Fitness is one of those things that a player, having been there, can sometimes take for granted. You may think you're in good shape and then realize that you're not really in the shape you should be.

«I'm a firm believer that you can always go a little more a little, because when you get on the field, it gives you more confidence [that you are stronger], and this was reflected in some of our performances.”

Newcastle must be brave to play the way they do. At home, it is easier when they are urged on by the home crowd, but they also managed away from home. It also requires coordinated teamwork, with each person working as part of a machine.

When something goes wrong, you should be able to ignore it and move on. This season, Newcastle have at times lost to Aston Villa away and Arsenal at home in recent weeks, but not once have they backed down, allowed themselves to lose confidence or change their mentality.

Swarm attack methods can be adapted. When Newcastle get tired, they can return to a tighter formation with a bank of four defenders in defence, five in midfield and a lone striker.

However, they still attack at lightning speed when they can, as we saw against Brighton when two goals were scored in the counterattack in the 89th and 94th minutes, which led to another impressive victory.