Newcastle legend Malcolm Macdonald has questioned the desire of the team's attacking players.
Supermac wrote for the Evening Chronicle: "Newcastle United have scored eight goals in seven Premier League games. It is the reason they have drawn five out of those seven and sit marooned in midtable.
"So why has there been a total dearth of goals? As someone who prided himself on notching a fair few in black and white I believe I have the answer.
"The more and more I have watched United play this season the more I have realised that across the board there is no real appetite to score at whatever cost. Goalscoring is as much about attitude as skill. It is about a desire, a commitment, an obsession.
"I had it, I saw it in Alan Shearer every time he played. I don't see it today at SJP. I am not just talking about the centre-forward but across the whole team. Just as I don't see that desire of wingers to cross at the very first opportunity.
"It is all nicey, nicey stuff. Take Newcastle's last game against Bournemouth. They played in front of their back five the whole game.
"It is a concern because the Magpies are much more of a front foot team than when Steve Bruce was in charge. Eddie Howe has seen to that. They play attractively in the first two thirds of the pitch ad enjoy loads of possession. But come the final third United do not possess a ruthlessness, a real determination to get off genuine shots as quickly as possible."