United won’t be judged on last three games... but don’t forget the three before
SHARPNESS NEEDED NOW FOR TRIP TO DOOMED BLADES
IT IS said that Newcastle will not be judged on their last three games. Maybe so, but they most certainly will be on their previous three. And they got them dreadfully wrong as well.
Sure, little is expected when Manchester City, Liverpool and Leicester City come along like three buses all at once. The outcome: a draw and two defeats.
However, immediately before that was another three-match run against Leeds United, Fulham, and Brentford which resulted in an identical outcome: a draw and two defeats.
That has been forgotten by some.
When you ship five goals at newlypromoted Leeds, fail to beat 10-man Fulham who were residing in the bottom three, and get knocked out conveniently of the League Cup by a Championship side resting a whopping six players you are in dire trouble. A torrent of abuse will inevitably follow.
Of course, such a dereliction of duty is only fully felt when the next three games arrive with a similarly bleak return. Not having given yourself a cushion, the pain becomes acute.
So United travel to Arsenal in the FA Cup with a current record of two points gathered from the last 15 and a league cup failure with Wembley in sight.
That’s six matches without a victory. Painful.
It’s no good bleating about the toughness of the last three games and choosing to forget the opportunity the previous three brought.
Remember when Steve Bruce was talking about getting to 20 points before Christmas and being in the semi-final of a domestic knockout competition? Well United blew that spectacularly.
The thought of Newcastle failing to win their next PL game at a stranded Sheffield United is frightening.
They are truly desperate and truly doomed – 15 defeats in 17 matches tells us that. Should three points not be harvested one way or another the wail of klaxons would be deafening and rightly so.
Everywhere things have changed – and for the worst.
Back in October I wrote that Mike Ashley, who knows the value of a pound, would no doubt privately question the advice which saw him twice break Newcastle United’s transfer record to buy Miggy Almiron and Joelinton.
I received no rebuke for my criticism of Joelinton, the great nonscoring No 9, but there was a flurry of discussion on Almiron, who can split opinion.
While his lightweight goalscoring
record cannot be disputed there were fans still seduced by his relentless willing running back and forth and his effervescent, smiling demeanour when chasing a piece of paper in the park.
I sparked quite a debate and I could understand it. There is a lot to like in Miggy’s basic game. I stuck my neck out and expected to get it chopped by some.
However, the outraged chorus is much less ferocious now because Almiron’s stock has continued to dip alarmingly.
His agent suggested not that long ago that Miggy fancied a transfer to play in a team more attack-minded where his running would be higher up the field and therefore that much more effective.
The suggestion was that he was almost too good for Newcastle.
Well, he cost the club £20m and I wonder if they would get their money back never mind make a profit if they sold him during this transfer window.
I would actually doubt it. Sadly, Almiron has lost his way without ever making a defining mark on the English game.
More and more he represents a headless chicken running for the sake of it rather than to effect.
Willing, yes, relentless certainly, but lightweight.
Maybe Almiron would look a better player in a better side with better tactics. Most would. But has he earned that right?
He cannot command a regular place here at the moment never mind find ‘a better team’ elsewhere in the Premier League.
As for Joelinton, how on earth has he taken part in so many PL games since his arrival at the start of last season? Unbelievably, he has failed to appear in only one of United’s 54 league games. That is staggering given his overall impact.
Out of 38 league fixtures last season he started 32 and went on as a sub in the other six for a grand total of two goals. This campaign so far he has begun 11 times and got on as a sub four more times in 16 matches. His return? One solitary strike.
That’s a grand total of 53 appearances (43+10) and three goals. Worth a shedload of anyone’s money!
Is he a regular because he looks the part physically? Or that a club record fee of £40m has to be justified somehow if his value is not to plummet?
Big Joe is evidently a nice guy but that is not the basis for judgement of a player.
What his continued involvement does tell us is the lack of goalscoring potential United possess outside of Callum Wilson.
Any chance of doing anything about that?
Sadly, Almiron has lost his way ... more and more he represents a headless chicken running for the sake of it