Underrated? Until Callum Wilson came along, Dwight Gayle was easily Newcastle United’s most successful finisher, and yet, apart from the odd cameo when Gayle would get a few minutes at the end, both Rafa Benitez and Steve Bruce have pretty much left him to decay on the sidelines. Despite excruciatingly bad performances week after week from other forwards, and despite a desparate lack of goals from Newcastle United over several seasons, Gayle has been left on the sidelines, but why?
To be fair, he is a rather injury prone player who has had several spells of injury since he signed for the Magpies in 2016, including the early part of this season. But there have also been many periods when he has been fit and ready to go, and has still found himself being overlooked in favour of strikers with the finishing skills of Diana Ross. (more…)
Dwight Gayle – Easily Toon’s most efficient goalscorer. It is no secret, Newcastle United’s strikers couldn’t hit a cow’s backside with a banjo at the moment. Collectively, our four strikers have scored only one goal in the Premier League in 26 games, with almost all of the goals scored by the club so far this season coming from defenders and midfielders. One in particular has been given more than enough time to prove himself and has shown woeful judgment in front of goal whilst others have only had the odd substitute appearence to prove themselves. In this piece I intend to sort the wheat from the chaff and go through their performances at the top level over their careers. (more…)
Ayoze Perez in his new Leicester colours. It’s worrying times if you are a Newcastle United fan. Not only has Mike Ashley been unable to keep Rafa Benitez at the club, with the Spaniard agreeing to become Dalian Yifang’s new manager, but Ayoze Perez has left, signing for Leicester City for no less than £30 million.
But will the second big departure of the summer result in several other key players vacating St James Park? Sean Longstaff has been linked continuously with Manchester United. It has been widely reported that Longstaff’s representatives have met with Manchester United to discuss a possible move this summer. (more…)
Gayle: An excellent season at West Brom. We had almost forgotten about him thanks to his swap with West Brom target man, Salomon Rondon, but he’s back. Much to the chagrin of West Bromwich Albion fans (if the Internet is to be believed), The Throstles decided they couldn’t afford Premier League wages in the Championship and have sent back Dwight Gayle back to St James’ Park. It certainly wasn’t due to poor performances, he had an excellent season, scoring 24 goals. Some even say that the reason West Brom didn’t get to the play-off finals was because Gayle missed out on the second leg of the semi final against local rivals, Aston Villa, who only won on penalties in the end. He scored in the first leg, but also picked up two yellow cards, leaving West Brom bereft of their top hitman when it came to the crunch. (more…)
Dwight Gayle: Two goals against Leeds last time Newcastle are hurtling back towards the Premiership after opening up a commanding lead at the top of the Championship and they could seal promotion in their upcoming home game against Leeds Utd. Gary Monk’s men have enjoyed a strong season and will make life difficult for Newcastle, but the Magpies will be confident of victory.
These sides met at Elland Road in November and Dwight Gayle put Leeds to the sword with a superbly taken brace. Leeds battled bravely but Newcastle were superior in all departments, and the gulf has widened between the two sides since. Leeds are fifth in the table, but 12 points behind leaders Newcastle, who have been brimming with confidence all season. (more…)