After a sobering defeat to West Ham on Monday, it feels like the NUFC collective has been brought down to earth with a bump. It’s of course no surprise to see the usual hysteria on social media. This certainly isn’t intended to fall into that category, as better marking from a set piece, and better finishing from Gordon and Isak probably sees us go on to win that game comfortably.
However, there is something becoming more and more concerning and glaringly obvious about Eddie Howe’s team.
After a fairly dominant performance but poor result away at Everton in October, I heard someone on a prominent NUFC podcast give the opinion that, “we are a team of athletes, not technicians.”
It hit home, and in all of our poorest performances and results this season, including Monday’s defeat, there has been one fundamental problem, which is our ability to retain the ball when teams aren’t allowing us to have it, particularly in midfield.
Whilst Bruno is a wonderful technician, the other two starting midfield places will almost certainly come from Howe’s trusted lieutenants Longstaff, Joelinton, and Willock.
They all have their important qualities. To use the parlance of our time, pressing, ball-carrying, being good in duels, and tactical awareness (for the most part) isn’t in short supply. They’ve all contributed towards what has been an incredible period that was simply unimaginable under Mike Ashley.
However they all share the same fundamental flaw, being that their biggest individual weaknesses are their ball retention, passing, and technical quality in tight spaces.
When two of these three players make up two of the midfield trio, Newcastle will have a technically inferior midfield in a large majority of PL games. If sides match us physically, and survive our attempted high octane starts and get to grips with our running, then Bruno aside, we’re found wanting.
In the build up to this game, I heard lots of pundits and West Ham fans saying their midfield was atrocious, “not fit for purpose” according to one Talksport presenter, and their biggest concern going into this game.
Well, Paqueta and Soler gave our lads a lesson in how to look after the football at key times of a game in our own back yard, particularly in the latter stages.
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 next opponents battered us at Selhurst Park last season, with their midfield trio of Wharton, Hughes and Eze completely bossing the game.
There have been many valid reasons out of Howe’s control as to why the last 18 months have been inconsistent. Injuries, PSR, hierarchy upheavals, and gambling and marriage indiscretions to same a few, but this isn’t one of them, and his solutions are already in-house.
Of course Sandro Tonali needs to start games, and while he’s been hot and cold since his return, he needs to find his rhythm. The notion him and Bruno can’t play together is a frankly absurd one. We have two genuinely elite midfielders, and finding the right formula to make them work together is Howe’s number one priority.
This isn’t meant to be a dig at Longstaff, who is unfairly scapegoated at times. He played well at Forest, and probably wouldn’t have deserved to be dropped for West Ham if truth be told. However let’s not forget, Sandro Tonali is a vastly superior footballer, and was ultimately signed to replace him long term.
Like Longstaff, both Willock and Joelinton have their best games when the opposition have more of the ball, so against a team who prefer a low block and are inviting us to break them down, leaving the best technical talent in our squad on the bench while we treat the ball like it’s on fire at times is completely nonsensical, and surely won’t continue.
On top of that, the decision to leave Lewis Miley off the bench on Monday for Targett and Osula was equally puzzling, particularly after hearing Howe wax lyrical about how he’s added physical prowess to his “incredible technical qualities”. While Targett’s inclusion was more understandable given the threadbare defensive situation, Osula has struggled for game time in the PL, so surely his chances to get minutes have further decreased with Wilson’s return.
So all eyes on Selhurst Park on Saturday, where we can’t afford a repeat of the last visit against a struggling Palace team. We need a response, which another insipid midfield display will make very difficult. In Eddie we trust .