Arms race

Newcastle left Dorset with a point on Sunday thanks to a favourable VAR intervention in second half added time, after Anthony Gordon had cancelled out Marcus Tavernier's opener.

The Cherries looked to have won it when a corner was headed in by substitute Dango Ouattara, only for replays to show that the ball had bounced off his arm. Contact was on his shirt sleeve but VAR determined it was arm rather than shoulder and the goal was chalked off.

Aside from that hefty piece of technological good fortune, the draw was probably a fair result for both sides; United giving a patchy performance after starting well but failed to exploit a tentative start from the hosts, losing momentum and initiative in a worrying fashion before going behind.

Repeated instances of the stadium sponsor's name emphasised what Eddie Howe's side had lacked in the season opener against Southampton at 11 v 11 and were short of again today: vitality.

Far from having a spring in our step we look leaden-footed and off the pace; balls badly-weighted, a succession of blind alleys entered and players on anything but the same wavelength.

The absence of the suspended Fabian Schar unsettled a defence in which Emil Krafth filled in as his replacement and Lloyd Kelly replaced Lewis Hall at left back. That latter change was seemingly based on the 45 minutes that Hall endured against Antoine Semenyo here last season and the notion that Kelly would be better equipped to handle his former colleague.

Problems that both full backs had in getting the ball forward were magnified by the struggles that Dan Burn and Krafth had in the centre; exposed in possession as they tried and failed to initiate attacks in the style of their Swiss colleague.

The result was a perpetually precarious tactic of finding a colleague facing his own goal under instant pressure from the home side - Joelinton turning back into trouble for the Bournemouth goal and close to disaster on several other occasions.

Semenyo's thumping drive had cannoned off Nick Pope's crossbar in the 27th minute and the Ghanaian centred 10 minutes later for Tavernier to finish from close range - the chance arising after Joelinton was dispossessed deep in his own half by Semenyo.

A first half display as unimaginative as last season's was equally sluggish after the restart, Howe making two double substitutions that changed the complexion of the game. 

In stark contrast to the empty bench in the corresponding game last season there were genuine game changers sitting there, most notably Joe Willock and Harvey Barnes. 

Barnes was reportedly unhappy that his efforts in pre-season failed to land him a starting spot for the Southampton home game and instantly looked in the mood to stake his claim when introduced here.

Sending one swerving howitzer of a shot agonisingly wide, the winger gave his side another dimension down the left; testing the full back and crossing accurately into the box missing until that point. 

Kieran Trippier meanwhile brought a much-needed threat on the other flank as United showed more urgency and the home side began to look vulnerable. We hesitate to say that the number 2 brought leadership on the field, but the recent decision to give the armband to Bruno made little sense to us and didn't seem to have an obvious benefit for the first hour of the game either to the team or him. 

Lewis Hall and Joe Willock then added more movement to the midfield, but when Dan Burn and Joelinton both failed to convert headers a second successive defeat here began to look more likely.

That was until the 76th minute when Barnes clipped a perfect ball to the far post for Gordon to convert a half volley; an unlikely first league victory for Howe against his old club suddenly on.

Late pressure from the Magpies saw Bruno come close with a curling effort from the edge of the box, but as added time began the home side forced a corner after Pope blocked Semenyo's shot.

There were few protests when Outtara found the net from Luis Sinisterra's corner before a VAR check was announced; referee David Coote informed of the handball and ruining what had appeared to be a happy ending to the home side's 125th anniversary fixture. 

A frantic finale included a red card shown to a home coach, while Joelinton was slightly fortunate not to see red for a ridiculous foul on Neto, hauling him down by the neck. Burn had been booked moments earlier for a similar but slightly less violent altercation with the Bournemouth 'keeper.

The point left United fifth in the table, which became sixth after Liverpool's 2-0 defeat of Brentford soon after - a statistic as meaningless as what was our 29th consecutive failure to begin a season with back to back league wins. 

Beyond the number crunching though lies an underlying feeling of unease; that something has imperceptibly changed on Barrack Road. Listening to the manager speak doesn't lessen that. 

A summer of uncertainty off the field (Staveley, PSR, Mitchell, recruitment, Howe) has translated itself into tension on it. Four points from two game is a perfectly reasonable return and there are mitigating factors in the performances like playing with 10 men for an hour last week.

Transfers concluded and not concluded have added to that bewilderment; not least in the area of goalkeeping, where not even glove retailer Mike Ashley was as keen on stockpiling custodians amid talk of a further arrival (Director of Football Paul Mitchell supposedly watched Burnley's James Trafford against the mackems on Saturday). 

What was billed as a transformative transfer window instead left the squad with a familiar look; welcome in some quarters, less so in others. There's a concern that a failure to do more than sign a free agent defender, a second tier forward and two keepers unplayable in different ways will signal a lack of ambition enough to drive away the prize assets that we've managed to retain so far. 

Full time saw the visiting players applaud their fans in the customary style, with a clearly emotional Trippier to the fore. Whether this was his swansong in a Newcastle shirt remains to be seen, but today he was an asset to a team who had lost their way before his arrival on the field. 

for whom the bell tolls?

Biffa