Newcastle legend Malcolm Macdonald admits their season start has him concerned.
Writing for ChronicleLive, he said: "Newcastle are beginning to worry me a little bit. No, not just the results. That is obvious. It is the manner of the defeats that has me concerned.
"The lack of ability - or willingness - to change the pattern of play when things are not going well is bugging me. It goes back to the Liverpool match up here. United were one-up playing against 10 men and desperate to get a second to see them home.
"However the goal never came. Miggy Almiron struck a post and that seemed to sum everything up. When it remained 1-0 with 10 minutes to go I was looking for United to change their outlook and kill the game.
"I wanted the back four to sit tight and the two central midfielders to tuck in as a shield. I wanted to see the ball taken into the corners and kept to run down the clock. For goodness sake Manchester City do it with Erling Haaland using his huge frame to protect the ball round the corner flag and they are a better team going forward than United."