The Newcastle scapegoat that needs to be protected

There always needs to be a scapegoat when it comes to the online reaction to Newcastle United performances. Many have taken that role this season. Dan Burn, Martin Dubravka, Miguel Almiron and Kieran Trippier have all taken on the mantel at some point during this season. The man currently being criticised more than others is Sean Longstaff.

What a difference a year makes. This time in the 2022/23 campaign, we were struggling without Longstaff in the team and many of the same supporters were suggesting that we couldn’t win without the academy graduate midfielder.

Now, they talk about how he isn’t good enough for the Premier League. Many want Longstaff to be sold this summer, as he would represent pure profit when it comes to PSR.

A lot of the discussion about scapegoats is often short sighted. All of the players named above have proven their worth to the team, both this season and previous campaigns. Every player goes through periods of bad form and although Longstaff hasn’t been as good as he was last season, he is still a good Premier League player.

This season, he has been reliable and has played the majority of matches. Availability is the best ability, although a cliché, is especially correct for us this season. Only six players have managed to play over 2000 minutes in the Premier League for us in the 2023/24 campaign. Longstaff is one of them and he ranks fourth in our squad. Considering the amount of running he gets through in a match, that is very impressive.

Longstaff has been criticised for his loose touches in possession causing break downs in attacks. A lot of players are guilty of giving the ball away, but his mistakes are magnified at the moment.

I do feel a degree of sympathy with Longstaff. He has been playing with an injury to help the team and that would help explain some of his performances. In The Athletic’s in-depth piece on our injury crisis, his comments are quite telling: “I got injured again at Bournemouth in November. It…

Source link : https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2024/04/12/the-newcastle-scapegoat-that-needs-to-be-protected/

Author : Jake Jackman

Publish date : 2024-04-12 14:20:46

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