· December 2 2024, 14:40
On Sunday we published an article tearing into one of our most beloved Newcastle United players and the guilt kept me awake last night.
Joelinton put in one of the worst performances in his Newcastle career since the arrival of Eddie Howe on Saturday, and while we stand by everything we said in that article on Sunday - how could we not? The stats were right there. We do still love the Brazilian beast and so we have decided that today we will celebrate the big man after he crossed a significant marker in the game against West Ham.
That abject performance in which Joelinton contributed next to nothing came on his 200th appearance for Newcastle United. Not the most ideal way to celebrate such a milestone, but it is what it is.
Thankfully, in those 200 appearances, there have been plenty of positives to focus on.
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200 not out
Things didn't get off to the best of starts for Joelinton following his £40 million move from Hoffenheim.
Forced to play as a lone striker despite making his name as a left-sided forward, it was clear that Joelinton was not a centre-forward, but Steve Bruce persisted in playing him in that role due to a lack of other options.
Fast forward to post-takeover Newcastle and Eddie Howe's arrival and a fortunate turn of events which saw Joelinton dropped into a central midfield role to plug a gap left by an early red card, and a legend was born.
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We'd still have Joelinton as one of the first names on the team sheet on Wednesday
Almost overnight, Joelinton went from being one of Newcastle's worst signings to a player we wouldn't sell for twice what we paid for him.
Once those Hawaiian shirts with Joelinton's face started appearing all over social media it was clear that the opinion of Joelinton had changed.
Last season Joelinton was simply incredible, and while he's not had the same impact this season, we can probably put that down to him having to cover so many different positions, often in the same game.
As poor as he was on Saturday, he'd still be one of the first names on our team sheet for Wednesday's clash with Liverpool. Who else is going to clatter their players?
Here's to many more appearances in the famous black and white. We love you Joey!