MAC Leaving pair off teamsheet would do them an injustice

HERE’S HOPING RAFA SENDS THE RIGHT MESSAGE TO PLAYERS TODAY

IF YOU want to get the best out of footballers then reward them when they play well.

And that should mean Ki and Fabian Schar starting against Bournemouth at St James Park this afternoon.

Because both have been ignored virtually all season, but when they were forced to go on last weekend because of injuries, they along with another sub Ayoze Perez, turned the game and produced Newcastle’s first win of the season.

To leave them out now would be to send out the wrong message. It would decimate them.

I believe the most crucial thing today will be Rafa’s team sheet and I’m desperate for Ki, Schar, and Perez to start regardless of the fitness of the three players they replaced.

All three newcomers played key roles in the defeat of Watford. Before they came on United hardly got a kick and the visitors ought to have been out of sight but the team was energised by their introduction. Maybe United lost their skipper Jamaal Lascelles and playmaker Jonjo Shelvey, but sometimes there is too much reliance on the pair and it was as if others were released from their shackles. Ki played 15 yards further up the pitch than Shelvey and drove on in support of Salomon Rondon, while

Schar, like Federico Fernandez, looked comfortable on the ball coming out of the back. In fact I thought they were tasty as a pair.

As for Perez I feel sorry for him because I think he’s a good footballer but some fans want a more physical approach which he cannot bring.

The lad is dainty and his goal was delightfully delicate. I was in awe. Honestly.

Ki really drove the free-kick but Perez resisted getting too good a touch, withdrawing and swivelling his neck to deftly lift the ball beyond the keeper and into the far corner of the net. It was a goal worthy of winning any match, though in reality United pinched the three points.

Rondon was forced to stay on because all three subs were used early, but I think the 90 minutes will have done him good fitness wise. He is still the best bet of what is on offer up top because of his physical presence. Perez will benefit from it for a start.

United would not have beaten Watford but for the introduction of the three subs. It would have been a 0-0 draw. So I would like Newcastle to start as they finished in terms of line up.

Too often this season the team has picked itself barring injuries. Even after defeats and that isn’t good.

For the first time we now have competition and I hope Rafa makes the most of it.

He got lucky with the subs working after he was forced into making them, but now the choice is his.

I think fans and players alike will be more than interested in his teamsheet this afternoon.

I believe the most crucial thing today will be Rafa’s teamsheet and I’m desperate for Ki, Schar, and Perez to start