Jacob Murphy and Miguel Almiron. Whilst Miguel Almiron and Jacob Murphy have been great servants for the club, Almiron with his energy, and Murphy with his big contribution last season in terms of assists (he was joint top with Trippier on 7), there is little doubt that in the front three, the Magpies are stronger on the left with Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes than they are on the right, a situation which was not rectified in the last transfer window, nor the one before that.
Whilst Gordon can also play on the right, he is now undoubtedly a very important player for the side and not playing him in his optimum position would be a bad compromise. On the other hand, Barnes is also a fine left winger who is too good to waste away on the side lines. That’s a slightly different discussion though. The question for this article is why, not for the first time, have the club failed to strengthen the right wing, whilst bringing in some players in positions that seem to be more well served? (more…)
Odysseas Vlachodimos. Whilst some of the signings by Newcastle United this season are predictable and understandable, like Lewis Hall’s move from Chelsea after a season on loan, and the signing of Lloyd Kelly, a decent enough utility defender who played for Eddie Howe at Bournemouth, there are some which seem slightly more perplexing though, at least initially. In this piece, I will look at some of these, starting with Newcastle’s current roster of five first team goalkeepers.
There are the two new goalkeepers, Odysseas Vlachodimos and John Ruddy from Nottingham Forest and Birmingham respectively. (more…)
David: Young, versatile, consistent and not injury prone. When Callum Wilson signed for the Magpies in 2020, I think it’s fair to say that many fans who were initially underwhelmed were very pleasantly surprised by his goals. However, his achilles heel is, his achilles heel, and numerous other parts of his body which seem to get injured whenever it looks like he is finally going to get a good run in the side.
In 2022, the club then signed Alexander Isak for a record fee of over £60 million. Though Isak has definitely shown his potential on the pitch since coming to the club with some great skills and goals, he too has been somewhat prone to injuries, which has left the club bereft of a proper Centre Forward at times. Wilson has been great when he’s been fit but he has been so fragile, the club needs someone else. (more…)
Another one bites the dust! Newcastle United squad have certainly had their problems with injuries recently, and suspensions too, the most notable being Sandro Tonali’s huge 10 month ban for innapropriate gambling activities. But how does it compare with other Premier League sides? and more specifically, is it because of European competition?
On the first question, even with the return of Alexander Isak and Miguel Almiron, as of 26th July, the Magpies still have the joint worst injury list along with Manchester United, with both teams missing 13 players from their squads due to injuries and suspensions according to (more…)
Miguel Almiron: Our top goalscorer so far. I think it’s fair to say that Newcastle United have had a good season so far, including the first Wembley Cup Final appearence since 1999. I think it’s also fair to say that Newcastle’s league success so far relies on a golden period of nine games lasting from the beginning of October 2022 until the new year. In that time. In those 9 league games, they won 8 and drew 1. Almiron played in all nine, scored 8 and undoubtedly had the biggest influence in that winning run. When Almiron’s run ended, so did Newcastle’s and now things are back to where they were in the early part of the season, solid, disciplined and hard to break down, but with a distinct lack of goals at the other end. (more…)
