To think these players had the benefit of a rare period of time with Howe on the training pitches during the three-week break between games.
This is where the Newcastle manager and his staff have previously come into their own, improving individuals who were signed and inherited with their intense, demanding drills and eye for detail.
Such productivity was at the heart of Newcastle ending a 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy by winning the League Cup last season and qualifying for the Champions League in 2025 and 2023.
Those hours have been at a premium during a relentless campaign this time around.
Yet former England goalkeeper and Match of the Day pundit Ben Foster suspected there would be some “weird and wonderful” results this weekend due to teams’ contrasting schedules.
“It’s hard to get into a rhythm of things when you haven’t played for such a long time,” he said.
“It depends where you are in the league but I think for some teams it suits them better to have a game every three or four days rather than three weeks off.”
Although a number of Howe’s players were away on international duty for most of the gap between games, these past few days still felt like the ideal period for the squad to regroup.
Not least when they were facing a Crystal Palace side who had only played in Europe on Thursday and benched key players such as Adam Wharton, Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta, who ended up turning the game on its head during a match-winning cameo.
However, on this evidence, there is little to suggest Newcastle are about to finally go on a run and qualify for Europe.
“I always have to look at myself first,” Howe said. “I always say that. I’m number one accountable.”
Howe issued similar words after a bruising defeat against bitter rivals Sunderland last time out.
A response was sorely needed and the Newcastle head coach attempted to jolt his side by wielding the axe.
Stalwarts Dan Burn and Kieran Trippier were dropped as Howe made six changes and named a noticeably younger starting line-up.
Aaron Ramsdale, Sven Botman, Joelinton and stand-in captain Jacob Murphy were the only starters over the age of 25, yet that was not the most striking aspect of this team selection.
In a rather damning indictment of Newcastle‘s recruitment last summer, which he was heavily involved in, Howe named just one of his five outfield signings in his starting line-up, defender Malick Thiaw.
It meant that forward William Osula was handed a rare league start and selected ahead of £124m pair Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa, having come mightily close to joining Eintracht Frankfurt back in September.
“I don’t pick the team based on transfer fees,” Howe said. “I pick the team based on what I see.”
Despite a flat display from the visitors, it looked like those calls were going to pay off, after Osula repaid Howe’s faith with a well-taken opener.
But a lack of control has been a recurring theme this season and Newcastle have dropped more points from winning positions than any other team in the Premier League.
Football does not work like this, of course, but if Newcastle managed to hang on and claim even 13 of the 25 points they squandered, Howe’s men would be joint-fourth in the table.