How do you solve a problem like Aleksandar?
BENITEZ URGENTLY NEEDS FRESH BLOOD UP FRONT
IT IS Newcastle United’s 125th anniversary year and throughout that time the club has had its fair share of brilliant goalscorers, fleet-footed forwards and magical attacking talents.
It’s therefore bittersweet to celebrate that momentous landmark in one of the club’s leanest periods when it comes to forwards.
It is not Rafa Benitez’s fault, and he is doing the best he can with the limited options available to him, but the pickings are very slim at the moment.
In terms of Premier League-quality strikers, it has been a long while since Newcastle had anyone who could hold a candle to the very best.
When I look at Benitez’s options, I really worry. Joselu does not look like a Premier League striker to me and the whole debate surrounding Aleksandar Mitrovic really mystifies me.
I know there’s a support for him in the crowd but they really are responding to his antics, not his talent on the field.
I think he plays the crowd better than he plays football with all the raised fists and trying to gee up the supporters.
Alan Shearer did not carry on like that after he had scored 50 to 100 goals for Newcastle. In fact, he didn’t get up to those antics when he had 200 goals in black-and-white.
Mitrovic isn’t anywhere near that level but the way some talk about him, it’s almost as if he is the answer to Benitez’s prayers and the manager just doesn’t realise it.
I’ve spoken and written about my frustration regarding Mitrovic before and I know some people take offence at it.
But my frustration with him is that he has some of the natural attributes which should make him a force to be reckoned with but he just does not use them.
I remember an exercise that I tried out with my strikers when I took over at Fulham as a manager.
We were struggling terribly at the time and I remember I asked our forwards to write down for me on a piece of paper what their best five attributes were.
They looked at me shocked but the idea was to get them to realise that they weren’t utilising the talent they had.
I bet if you did the same for Mitrovic, he would not be making the most of those five characteristics.
He should be dominant in the air but he does not channel his strength or aggression properly to bully defenders or win headers.
When he scored his goal against West Ham I think it was the first time he had jumped and headed it with his feet off the ground.
He should be dominating centrehalves but instead he still allows himself to be wound up by them.
Considering how long he has been a professional footballer – and how long he has played in England – that is just not acceptable.
Yes, he will get some headed goals but I don’t think he uses his physicality to his advantage.
In fact, I think he misuses his attributes by throwing around his weight in response to being wound-up by defenders.
He’s more interested in getting an advantage over opposition defenders that way – which earns him his red cards – than by channeling that aggression in the right way and scoring goals by being physicaly dominant.
If he was able to concentrate and put his strengths to their best use, he could be an aerially dominant player in the mould of Wyn Davies or the great Tony Hateley, who was one of the most impressive headers of a ball in the game. But instead we see him come on, huff and puff and contribute virtually zero.
He is not alone. I hate to agree with Mark Hughes but Joselu will do nothing for Newcastle. I don’t think he is technically good enough and he is not a finisher either.
When I see the great number nines down the years, he is not of that calibre and it feels to me like his continued inclusion in the team is more of a message to the owner for not backing Benitez than it is confidence that Joselu will score ten or more goals this season. I feel for Ayoze Perez, who is working his socks off and – I think – knows he is in a battle for his career at Newcastle. He does not have a physical presence and I’m not sure he will ever be the greatest goal threat in the league but his workrate is phenomenal and he has some deft touches. But playing alongside Joselu or Mitrovic is not a task I envy. If he was playing in a better team, I think he would be much more highly regarded than he is. Alongside someone like Alan Shearer, he would have looked exceptional. The answer for Rafa is in the transfer market armed with funds. Although there are people calling for Mitrovic, I just don’t think he will be the man to score the goals Newcastle need.