A perfect debut for Matty Longstaff vs Man Utd. It continues to be a season of ups and downs for Newcastle United as we continue to hover around mid-table. However, in the world of reduced expectations under Mike Ashley, 24 matches with 30 points, along with 4 teams and 7 points between Newcastle United and the relegation places seems like quite a good place to be all things considered. The Magpies find themselves only needing 10 points from their remaining 14 games to reach the 40 points usually seen as ensuring survival in the Premier League, with the potential to do much better and cement another place in mid table.
The team are also 6 points better off than they were at the same point last season, and that under a former Champions League winner in Rafael Benitez, though a very poor start last season was compensated for by a much better finish which saw Newcastle finish one place higher than the 14th place Newcastle United hold at the time of writing this piece. (more…)
Could Carroll make the difference? On the eve of the current season, new manager Steve Bruce spoke openly about the need to increase Newcastle’s goal output.
They netted just 42 last term, but owner Mike Ashley did – finally – open the purse strings in a bid to address the problem. A club-record £40 million was splashed on Joelinton alone, while wide man Allan Saint-Maximin arrived with a strong reputation from Nice.
It left Bruce feeling confident: “If you’ve got someone at the top end of the pitch that scores, you’re always in the game”, he said. “We have to cause the other teams a threat – we have that threat now.”(more…)
Steve Bruce: Not a big fan of tactics. Newcastle United currently sit 19th in the Premier League and with Manchester United and Chelsea eagerly waiting around the corner, it seems unlikely Steve Bruce’s men will be rising up the table any time soon. There is an argument that it is too early to worry, as Newcastle were in fact sitting on fewer points this time last season. However, when comparing the same fixtures, Newcastle accumulated 9 points last season, while only picking up 5 this season. This begs the question; where are Newcastle going wrong? (more…)
Perez after his first Toon hat-trick. Like Brexit has distracted most people in the UK from other political issues, so talk of a certain takeover has dominated the minds of we Toon fans in recent weeks, including the stories in this ‘blog. However, in this piece I mean to put that right by concentrating on the notable improvement in form of Ayoze Perez in the latter part of last season, and why this might be.
To get straight to the point, until last season, Perez hardly ever played right wing in a Newcastle United shirt, he was primarily a second striker, occasionally filling in as a centre forward or left winger as needs must in a threadbare Ashley squad.
However, since around December of 2018, Rafa Benitez switched him to a new position on the right of a cosy threesome nestling behind Salomon Rondon and whilst his assist stats haven’t really changed, his goal stats have been transformed from mediocrity to world class levels. (more…)
Leicester: Five wins out of six against NewcastleNewcastle United host Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday desperately needing a victory to kick-start their season.
The Magpies have picked up just two points in six games this term, and a defeat this weekend would leave them rooted in the bottom three.
Rafa Benitez’s side have faced four of last season’s top six already this season, and they will be eager to take advantage of some potentially easier fixtures over the coming weeks. (more…)
