After a sobering defeat to West Ham on Monday, it feels just like the NUFC collective has been introduced all the way down to earth with a bump. It’s in fact no shock to see the same old hysteria on social media. This actually isn’t meant to fall into that class, as higher marking from a set piece, and higher ending from Gordon and Isak in all probability sees us go on to win that recreation comfortably.
Nonetheless, there’s something changing into increasingly regarding and obviously apparent about Eddie Howe’s staff.
After a reasonably dominant efficiency however poor consequence away at Everton in October, I heard somebody on a distinguished NUFC podcast give the opinion that, “we’re a staff of athletes, not technicians.”
It hit dwelling, and in all of our poorest performances and outcomes this season, together with Monday’s defeat, there was one elementary drawback, which is our capacity to retain the ball when groups aren’t permitting us to have it, notably in midfield.
While Bruno is an excellent technician, the opposite two beginning midfield locations will virtually actually come from Howe’s trusted lieutenants Longstaff, Joelinton, and Willock.
All of them have their essential qualities. To make use of the parlance of our time, urgent, ball-carrying, being good in duels, and tactical consciousness (for essentially the most half) isn’t in brief provide. They’ve all contributed in direction of what has been an unimaginable interval that was merely unimaginable below Mike Ashley.
Nonetheless all of them share the identical elementary flaw, being that their greatest particular person weaknesses are their ball retention, passing, and technical high quality in tight areas.
When two of those three gamers make up two of the midfield trio, Newcastle could have a technically inferior midfield in a big majority of PL video games. If sides match us bodily, and survive our tried excessive octane begins and become familiar with our working, then Bruno apart, we’re discovered wanting.
Within the construct as much as this recreation, I heard numerous pundits and West Ham followers saying their midfield was atrocious, “not match for objective” in response to one Talksport presenter, and their greatest concern going into this recreation.
Properly, Paqueta and Soler gave our lads a lesson in the right way to take care of the soccer at key occasions of a recreation in our personal again yard, notably within the latter levels.
Weiffer and Baleba did it for Brighton to beat us 1-0. Smith-Rowe, Lukic and Pereira did it away at Fulham. Even Joao Gomes and Lemina did it to us away at Wolves. Our subsequent opponents battered us at Selhurst Park final season, with their midfield trio of Wharton, Hughes and Eze utterly bossing the sport.
There have been many legitimate causes out of Howe’s management as to why the final 18 months have been inconsistent. Accidents, PSR, hierarchy upheavals, and playing and marriage indiscretions to similar a couple of, however this isn’t one in every of them, and his options are already in-house.
After all Sandro Tonali wants to start out video games, and whereas he’s been cold and hot since his return, he wants to search out his rhythm. The notion him and Bruno can’t play collectively is a frankly absurd one. We have now two genuinely elite midfielders, and discovering the precise method to make them work collectively is Howe’s primary precedence.
This isn’t meant to be a dig at Longstaff, who’s unfairly scapegoated at occasions. He performed nicely at Forest, and possibly wouldn’t have deserved to be dropped for West Ham in fact. Nonetheless let’s not overlook, Sandro Tonali is a vastly superior footballer, and was in the end signed to switch him long run.
Like Longstaff, each Willock and Joelinton have their finest video games when the opposition have extra of the ball, so towards a staff preferring a low block and are inviting us to interrupt them down, leaving the perfect technical expertise in our squad on the bench whereas we deal with the ball prefer it’s on fireplace at occasions is totally nonsensical, and certainly received’t proceed.
On high of that, the choice to depart Lewis Miley off the bench on Monday for Targett and Osula was equally puzzling, notably after listening to Howe wax lyrical about how he’s added bodily prowess to his “unimaginable technical qualities”. Whereas Targett’s inclusion was extra comprehensible given the threadbare defensive scenario, Osula has struggled for recreation time within the PL, so certainly his possibilities to get minutes have additional decreased with Wilson’s return.
So all eyes on Selhurst Park on Saturday, the place we will’t afford a repeat of the final go to towards a struggling Palace staff. We want a response, which one other insipid midfield show will make very troublesome. In Eddie we belief .
HTL!