A strange 2024/25 season so far for Newcastle United.
Four months and eighteen matches in, nobody quite knows what to expect.
The regular question from fans and pundits alike, ahead of each match, is ‘Which Newcastle United are we going to see this time?’
The team that outperforms and defeats Chelsea, Arsenal and Forest?
The team that tamely lost at home to struggling West Ham and fortunate to get a point at Palace?
One Newcastle United player who perfectly sums up those performances and results… and indeed the whole season so far, is Joe Willock.
Joe Willock missing from the matchday squad altogether on Saturday at Brentford, Eddie Howe has explained why – “He’s had a hamstring problem, a very minor one, I don’t think it’s serious.”
This is the Joe Willock involvement this season so far:
Unused Sub – Newcastle 1 Southampton 0 (17 August)
Off the bench – Bournemouth 1 Newcastle 1 (25 August)
Started game – Forest 1 Newcastle 1 NUFC won 4-3 on penalties (28 August)
Not in matchday squad – Newcastle 2 Tottenham 1 (1 September)
Off the bench – Wolves 1 Newcastle 2 (15 September)
Started game – Fulham 3 Newcastle 1 (21 September)
Off the bench – Newcastle 1 Man City 1 (28 September)
Started game – Newcastle 1 AFC Wimbledon 0 (1 October)
Off the bench – Everton 0 Newcastle 0 (5 October)
Off the bench – Newcastle 0 Brighton 1 (19 October)
Off the bench – Chelsea 2 Newcastle 1 (27 October)
Started game – Newcastle 2 Chelsea 0 (30 October)
Started game – Newcastle 1 Arsenal 0 (2 November)
Started game – Forest 1 Newcastle 3 (10 November)
Started game – Newcastle 0 West Ham 2 (25 November)
Started game – Palace 1 Newcastle 1 (30 November)
Off the bench – Newcastle 3 Liverpool 3 (4 December)
Not in matchday squad – Brentford 4 Newcastle 2 (7 December)
As I say, I think Joe Willock perfectly sums up this season for Newcastle United, the highs and lows in terms of performance, the inconsistency.
In those five starts in a row, Joe Willock was especially good as United defeated Chelsea, Arsenal and Forest.
Then the same player particularly bad as Newcastle performed so poorly against West Ham and Palace.
Looking back at the 2022/23 season and that fourth place finish.
That season, Joe Willock was excellent, week in week out Eddie Howe knew what he was getting from the midfielder, Willock so key to our success that campaign, especially his combination with Joelinton on the left.
Eddie Howe played Joe Willock in all 35 Premier League matches he was available for in that 2022/23 season. starting 31 PL games and off the bench in four.
In that recent run of three wins in a row before the November internationals, that Joe Willock and Joelinton combination was looking so good again.
Then it falls away so dramatically. The effort was still there but just not clicking.
Obviously you can’t blame everything on it but certainly I don’t think that 15 days break helped, between Forest and West Ham.
It has been said before, that Joe Willock needs to get into the groove to bring his best form, that playing regularly helps him and the team get into a rhythm of playing to a certain standard.
Whilst of course Eddie Howe has to take overall responsibility in the final analysis (at the end of the season) for his team, you have to have a significant degree of sympathy for the NUFC Head Coach, when he has conundrums such as Joe Willock to deal with.
Newcastle United fans having no idea what to expect from Joe Willock (and others) match to match… and neither does Eddie Howe.