The Newcastle United Class of 2022/23 – Allan Saint-Maximin | OneFootball

Here at The Mag we have asked 20 of our regular / irregular contributors to pay tribute to the 20 Newcastle United players who started two or more Premier League matches this past 2022/23 season.

To an extent guided by their preference, each writer has been allocated one player each.

This series of articles runs from Thursday 1 June to Tuesday 20 June with one player covered each day, each article appearing at noon.

This started with the player who had the lowest NUFC squad number (Kieran Trippier), and will go right through to the highest (Bruno Guimaraes).

Today’s Newcastle United player from the class of 2022/23 is Allan Saint-Maximin, our thanks to Jonathan Drape-Comyn for providing this overview:

Your three stand out moments of the season for this player?

Number one is obviously the Manchester City game at the start of the season.

Maxi absolutely destroyed them that day. I do not think I have seen a player do that to Kyle Walker before, with most of the back line not knowing what to do with him.

He set up the first goal for Almiron, the second for Wilson and won the free kick (that Trippier scored from) with a great run. Unplayable really and one of the best individual performances of the season. This was the Maxi we all knew he had in him.

Number two is his performance against Man United in the 2-0 win against Man United in the league.

This one, probably for none of the reasons I stated in the Manchester City. He had spent a great deal of time out of the team between the two games as he obviously struggled to become the type of player Eddie Howe wanted. So on this day, he wasn’t pulling up trees, running the defenders ragged etc but it was a fantastic disciplined display where he fitted into Howe’s team, you would assume, how he wanted. Throw in a fantastic assist for the first goal too to set up Willock.

Last one? Has to be that equaliser against Wolves at the start of the season. What a goal.

When you look back, there are loads of moments here and there where you think ‘what if that didn’t go in’ etc – that is definitely one of them.

Quite telling perhaps that 2/3 of these moments came in the opening month of the season. If he had continued his start to the season and shown consistency throughout, then you could have been talking about a player of the season contender.

What have been this player’s strengths this season?

Clearly from the answer above, you can say that Maxi has the potential to step up either against the big teams, or come up with a big moment. That Wolves goal though… is the only one of the season.

You just don’t know what you are going to get from him, or even when. I have played at a fairly decent level and know that those types of players, who can win you the game singlehandedly, will probably have more off days than on, but it just hasn’t been enough this season.

Big moments, yes, you can get something out of him, but they have just been few and far between. Those players live off the big moments. Hatem Ben Arfa probably didn’t have enough of them either… but Ginola did, Robert did etc.

It’s funny how your views on an entire season can come down to one or two moments. Can you imagine if Maxi had scored in the first 20 minutes of the cup final with that run past Dalot which De Gea saved brilliantly? Man U probably wouldn’t have gone up the other end to score and he may have been a match winner in our first cup win in 50 odd years.

Fine margins…

His weaknesses?

I have alluded to it but consistency is the main one for me. He just doesn’t give you the bare minimum that you are looking for at times.

Rarely is he a 7 or an 8 in match ratings every week. It’s always one end of the extreme or another (which comes with the territory of being that type of player of course).

His final delivery at times can be very frustrating, his fitness has been a struggle, but the biggest one for me is I think his work ethic leaves a lot to be desired at times. I have seen him come off the bench this season and walk about the pitch.

There have been multiple times, especially at SJP, where we have been hanging on to narrow leads and he hasn’t made the effort to make that 20 yard sprint to track his man or cover the space.

So his weakness? He doesn’t always give you the bare minimum that you are looking for a lot of the time.

How would you describe his contribution overall this season?

Again, there have been certain moments here and there but I do think, this season alone, we wouldn’t be in a different position if Maxi wasn’t there. That sounds quite harsh, just my opinion of course.

Maxi in previous seasons has been almost a one man band that has kept us up. I would actually go as far as saying that Maxi’s performances in his first couple of seasons directly contributed to the takeover and success we see today. If it wasn’t for him, I am convinced Bruce would have taken us down and there never would have been a takeover.

I do think it is only a good thing that we do not have a reliance on him anymore. On some occasions this season he has been a huge help to the team, on others a bit of a hindrance.

Your guess is as good as mine…

On a scale of 1-10, how important will this player be to Newcastle United next (2023/24) season?

Has the potential to be one of the most important players in the team, but if he does stay this summer, then probably a 4 or a 5.

I think we will bring in another winger, or even another striker too that could play in a wide attacking role. So take those two, and plus Isak, Almiron, Gordon, Murphy, Willock, Joelinton and Anderson can all play in that wide left role, Maxi will really have to do the business next year if he is to have any serious impact on the team.

Good problem to have though!

What do you see their role in the team / squad being next season for Newcastle United?

He should, on paper, be a starter. He should be good enough to be one of the first names on the teamsheet. Like I just said though, there is so much competition in the squad now which is only going to increase – and even more so if Howe continues to play two strikers next season.

My prediction is that Maxi will stay, he’ll be a bit part player in the Premier league (more than likely an impact sub at times), and much like mavericks like Tino before him, the Champions League (then maybe Europa league) will be where he shines.

European football next season, plus the League Cup and FA Cup, that’s a potential extra half a season worth of games for Maxi to be in the starting eleven, delivering as the main player.

Is there more improvement Eddie Howe can get out of this player?

100% – if he can get the best out of the likes of Schar, Burn, Almiron, Longstaff, Joelinton etc then there is no reason why he can’t do so with Maxi after another full summer.

What rating out of 10 would you give this Newcastle United team / squad for the 2022/23 season?

10. Can’t believe anyone would give them anything less? Champions League Qualification and a Cup Final is more than anyone could ask at the start of the season.

In comparison, what would be the individual rating you’d give out of 10 for your player’s contribution this past season?

7 – I think that is fair. One number up or down would be incredibly generous or quite harsh.

How gutted would you be if this player left Newcastle United this summer?

If he is replaced like for like, I wouldn’t be disappointed at all. I personally think we have probably got the most out of him. I also think if we could sell him for 50 million, then we could definitely replace him with someone just as good for the same price.

I am excited to see him in the Champions League next year on the big stage.

Please predict what Eddie Howe’s first choice eleven will be next season and just put ‘New Signing’ if you think the NUFC Head Coach will bring in a new first choice for that position.

GK – Pope

RB – Trippier

CB – Schar

CB – Botman

LB – New Signing

CDM – Bruno

CM – Longstaff

CM – Joelinton

RW – New Signing

LW – Willock

ST – Isak