Laughable claims on Lewis Miley – I find them beyond belief | OneFootball

Lewis Miley has made a lot of headlines.

A 17 year old who has now become a household name.

A first team regular for Newcastle United and yet can’t even (legally) go to the pub and buy an alcoholic drink to celebrate when NUFC win a match.

As well as all the deserved praise for Lewis Miley from so many.

There have also been some very laughable claims on Lewis Miley – I find them beyond belief.

These claims I am referring to, basically are used by those who want to make out that Newcastle United’s unprecedented list of missing players this season, is supposedly nothing out of the ordinary.

That having double figures of players, half the first team squad, is nothing unusual, week after week, month after month, as ‘all teams get injuries’…

That playing a 17 year old in central midfield week after week is nothing notable!

Having looked at the Lewis Miley timeline, this is nothing other than incredible what he has achieved, what the teenager has contributed when asked to step up in the most difficult of circumstances:

28 May 2023 – Lewis Miley makes his first ever appearance for Newcastle United senior team, the last 15 minutes of the 1-1 draw at Chelsea, the very final Premier League game of the 2022/23 PL season.

27 September 2023 – Eddie Howe gives the 17 year old his first ever NUFC start, Lewis Miley playing the first half of the League Cup win over Manchester City. Replaced by Bruno at half-time as the head coach takes it easy with such a young player.

4 November 2023 – With the list of missing players getting to crazy levels, Lewis Miley for the first time this season gets a place on the bench for an NUFC Premier League match, an unused sub as an Anthony Gordon goal is enough to give United a 1-0 home win over Arsenal.

7 November 2023 – Crisis point with so many players unavailable, what a night though for Lewis Miley. Eddie Howe replaces Joe Willock with the 17 year old for the final 10 minutes away at Borussia Dortmund, the teenager playing in the Champions League at such a tender age as United lose 2-0.

This is where it gets really bizarre.

Newcastle United play Arsenal this Saturday night, there have been 20 NUFC matches in all competitions since that 1-0 win over the Gunners, starting with that Dortmund away match.

Lewis Miley, aged 17, has played in all 20 of those matches.

Yes, 102 days apart, 7 November 2023 that sub appearance in Germany and then on Saturday 17 February 2024 in the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, Lewis Miley featuring in all 20 first team games, starting 17 of them and off the bench in the other three.

This is just crazy that anybody thinks Eddie Howe hasn’t been really up against it when it comes to playing options these last three months and more, then even crazier if you don’t think it has been way beyond what could have been imagined by anybody, what Lewis Miley has achieved and contributed when called upon by the NUFC Head Coach.

I definitely think that as he is 6ft 2, then that helps people now to think / claim that this is nothing unusual. However, when you see him up close and especially when you hear him interviewed, you realise he is just a kid, the same as your teenagers!

As I say above, following that win over Arsenal on 4 November 2023, at that point Lewis Miley had still only played 60 minutes of first team football.

Since then he has played in all of the 20 first team matches and played a further 1,512 minutes!

The breakdown of those 1,512 NUFC first team minutes since the Arsenal home win is:

1,088 minutes in Premier League (13 starts and 1 off the bench)

171 minutes in Champions League (2 starts and 1 off bench)

133 minutes in FA Cup (1 start and 1 off bench)

120 minutes in League Cup (1 start and 0 off bench)