SUPER MAC Back front and middle, it’s all just a confusing mess for the Magpies
TIME HAS COME FOR CLEAR THINKING AND BIG HEARTS
WHEN I see Paul Dummett looking round in bewilderment I know Newcastle United are in big trouble. Dummett is an out and out defender. He loves the muck and nettles fight at the back rather than wanting to be silky smooth going forward.
I think he’s a fabulous defender in the old mould but at Leicester he was getting caught wrong side, he wasn’t sure where he was or what he ought to be doing. And when that happens United are in a mess.
You could see that Fabian Schar, another of the few reliable performers, was furious too with the disorganisation of the team.
It was depressing, shocking, because at least United’s defenders used to be able to keep them in games.
However 5-0 at Leicester and 3-1 at Norwich tells you all is lost in a confusion that leads to the white flag being hoisted.
Frankly, United are a busted flush. Every team’s potential whipping boys. They can’t keep a clean sheet at the back, the midfield create nowt, and the attackers can’t score. No wonder Newcastle are the bookies’ favourites to finish bottom, not just go down. United were supposedly playing “a new system” at the King Power Stadium. Since when is a flat back four a new system?
Anyway, it was four at the back instead of three central defenders. Not that you would notice the difference in the last two games because United were as big a shambles against Brighton as they were against Leicester.
It was just that Brighton didn’t take their chances.
So it’s on to Manchester
United up here.
What can we expect?
They are having a tough time themselves but they are still streets ahead of the Magpies and I fear for us.
For a start I would scrap United’s pairing up top despite it having cost £60m because Joelinton and Miguel Almiron isn’t working.
The trouble is who can come in? Can
Andy Carroll and Allan Saint Maximin last 90 minutes? Probably not which is criminal because they are summer signings and United needed new faces to hit the ground running.
The same probably applies to Dwight Gayle. He and Carroll would be my preferred partnership but right now that looks a long shot.
I would still give Almiron a rest because he looks a little boy lost. I would go with Maximin for as long as he can last and then look to the subs’ bench. Something new has to be tried otherwise we know exactly what we are going to get. Steve Bruce has seemed confused and not sure what to try next and it’s showing on the pitch but he has to find answers and quickly because this season is beginning to run away from Newcastle. Everyone from the head coach and his staff to the players are under intense scrutiny and need to step up to the plate. This is a time for clear thinking, big hearts, and positive action not confusion and total surrender.
I think he’s a fabulous defender in the old mould but at Leicester he was getting caught wrong side