Striker’s starting to be no ordinary Joe
JOELINTON may be taking his time to repay his £40million price tag but pound by pound he is chipping away at the astronomical figure.
After laying on an assist for Miguel Almiron - another big-money signing at £21million who took time to settle - Joelinton took his tally to two assists and a goal in last two matches.
For some players that would be a modest showing but for Joelinton - who only scored twice and laid on the same amount of assists in his previous 46 matches for Newcastle - this is a huge step in the right direction.
Could it have been even better? Well when Joelinton burst down the left, dropped his shoulder and sent his marker for a hot dog in front of the Leazes End against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday there is a reasonable argument he should have squared the ball for Sean Longstaff, who would have had a free hit at Sam Johnstone between the posts.
However, let’s be fair, are we really going to be that harsh on a player who has been criticised for being shotshy throughout his time at Newcastle so far?
The good news is Joelinton seems to have found his confidence in front of goal again following a late strike at Crystal Palace last time out.
His involvement levels were there for all to see against West Brom, even if he did start to run out of steam towards the end.
With 46 touches and 27 passes he was a threat in the final third.
After the game Bruce looked back on the moment in which Joelinton was caught in two minds in front of goal with Newcastle 1-0 up. He said: “We had a wonderful opportunity with Big Joe and maybe he should have passed it to Sean.
“I can understand why he has taken the effort on, though.
“You just need to get that second and that second one never came for a long time in the first half.”
Bruce was forced to freshen things up in the second half and look for other ways to win the game.
He turned to substitutes Dwight Gayle and Jacob Murphy to inflict misery on the club with whom they spent the 2018/19 season on loan.
Fears of what would have been an almost unbearable home defeat had been raised at half-time when Slaven Bilic introduced two players the Magpies have tried to sign in the past in Charlie Austin and Kieran Gibbs.
Bruce reflected: “To be fair to West Brom they changed it.
“They made two substitutions and went a bit bolder, they caught us napping a bit.
“We were caught at the far post and then the 10 to 15 minutes was the crucial period, West Brom played very well.
“I thought the substitutes made the difference.
“Jacob put in
Dwight.”
Bruce now has something of a selection headache for Wednesday’s clash at Leeds as far as his attacking unit is concerned.
Does Gayle start after a successful return (and good memories of scoring at Elland Road in the Championship).
Or does the head coach stick with Joelinton and Callum Wilson, who both performed very well without scoring? great cross for