The Chronicle (South Tyneside and Durham)
JOHNGIBSON Toon find their form away but home is now the concern
WHAT happened in the land of Robin Hood’s merry men was a totally inconsistent football team being absolutely consistent.
If Newcastle United can be justifiably accused of lurching from one spectacular result into the pits of frustration then here surprisingly was an unexpected run of wall-to -wall success.
The Magpies, who were unable to buy an away PL victory all season outside of a freak scoreline at Sheffield United, have now won FOUR successive away matches across two competitions. Can you believe it? Away the lads is the new cry!
Savour it because it is a real rarity: Sunderland 3-0 FA Cup, Fulham 2-0 FA Cup, Aston Villa 3-1 Premier League, and now Nottingham Forest 3-2 PL.
However, the huge three points camouflage weaknesses not apparent last season. United had to take the lead three times 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2 to manage to win against modest opposition because defensively they were a shambles.
Where they were as mean as Scrooge last term, they are currently as generous as a charity supporter on flag day.
It doesn’t take Champions League quality to unlock them, teams fighting against relegation can do it. Luton scored four at SJP. Forest, who notched three up here to win, got another two. It has to stop.
Neutrals love us on the box whereas we die a thousand deaths in an hour and a half.
Still, we cling on to European dreams. We go again when Bournemouth come up here next having lost to them as we did to Luton and Forest before we steadied a rocking boat. United must do that again because points can mean prizes.
You need heroes when you’re in a generous mood so step forward Bruno Guimaraes. He’s passionate, he’s committed, he plays on the edge, he is labouring under the threat of a two-match ban the next time a referee yellow cards him, yet he carried all that on his shoulders and released to play further forward scored twice to transform the match.
Our Brazilian loves to don his Superman cape and here it was totally justified.
Typical of this current United side is that the best work of Fabian Schar, a central defender, is done in the opposing penalty area not his own.
Two goals to bring a spectacular victory at Villa and another here, the ball stroked into the back of the net with a finish an international striker would love to call his own. What will we have next? An overlapping goalkeeper?
We must in fairness look at what is wrong as well as right and defensively United are way, way short. Back four and midfield.
Dan Burn continues to be a big figure of controversy. Eddie Howe decided yet again to play United’s slowest defender in direct opposition to the opposition’s quickest attacker and that only poured petrol on an already smouldering bonfire.
He did it a week ago against Luton Town and Chiedozie Ogbene proceeded to take Burn to the cleaners. Here, despite fans talking of little else, Burn was again picked to start despite the fact that Anthony Elanga showed he has pace to burn n when Forest boxed our ears s on December 26.
It was either a massive e gamble or a huge show of f loyalty and faith in one of his s power brokers – perhaps s both – but within quarter of f an hour the doubters had d plenty of ammunition.
Burn was scorched by For- est’s flyer in an unequal foot t race but thankfully Martin n Dubravka prevented Elanga a from scoring.
It was, however, only a stay of execution. Another r 10 minutes on a decisive e
Morgan Gibbs-white pass s released Elanga out of the e traps once again. From that t moment it was 1-1. It t turned the game.
If you are the defender in n that position you either r have to drop deep or take e one for the team and foul l the guy. You cannot let him m go. Yes, the midfield failed d to help but so did the big g man. United were in com- plete charge of the match h before being pegged back to 1-1 but never regained that level of dominance afterwards.
Perhaps Howe believes that with backing Dan will play himself out of a rocky spell as Kieran Trippier did a short while ago on the other flank but then he was not carrying the extra burden of lacking burners.
That Forest failed to get Elanga isolated with Burn in the secondhalf was their problem and our relief. To be fair, Big Dan dug deep into his survival kit but then he has never suffered from a lack of heart.
Others added to the concern of course. Sven Botman is not looking the defender of limitless potential he did and the midfield requires a No.6 big time. Or Big Joe meantime.
If United have plenty of pace on the wings they lack that vital commodity across their back line and at times it shows alarmingly.
Nonetheless, United appear to have overcome their dreadful away record but must now tackle another problem – they have to rectify an awful run of home results.
Where St James Park was once a fortress it is now a lovely place to come – Luton 4-4, Manchester City 2-3, Forest 1-3 are the last three results. Ten goals given up as a matter of course. Help, I cannot take the contradictions!
Honestly it is like putting your finger in a hole in the dam only to see water gush out elsewhere.
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