Newcastle earn plaudits after demanding week

This week I travelled 5,000 miles from Scotland to Azerbaijan via Turkey and back to see Qarabag v Newcastle, before embarking on a 600-mile round trip drive to Nottingham. Eddie Howe said afterwards that he was proud of his players as they gave everything. Newcastle are basically through after that Anthony Gordon-inspired 6-1 Champions League rout, but you still hear the odd rumbling about the team's underachievement in the Premier League.