Eddie Howe conundrum presents itself with compelling argument – Will three into one go? | OneFootball

A real conundrum for Eddie Howe.

On Sunday, partly by necessity and mainly by choice, Eddie Howe made three changes at the break.

With Newcastle United a goal down against Wolves, the Head Coach was forced to take Alexander Isak off, as well as choosing to take Sean Longstaff and Joelinton off.

Replacing them were Sandro Tonali, Joe Willock and Harvey Barnes.

As we all know, United turned it around with the help of the subs and fans and players were very happy when the final whistle went.

An interesting new report has highlighted something for me, that conundrum for Eddie Howe…

This table from The Other 14 pointing to what could be an intriguing possibility:

I think we are all agreed that playing wide left is by far the best position for both Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes.

I would suggest that having total freedom down that left side is also ideal for Joe Willock to operate in, though maybe not totally stepping on the toes of Harvey Barnes and/or Anthony Gordon.

So that is the conundrum for me, as this table shows above, this trio have been the most productive for Newcastle United this season so far, in terms of creating chances compared to number of minutes on the pitch.

As you can see above, the top 18 Premier League players in this respect, only Man City have as many as Newcastle United.

So the question for me is, can Eddie Howe find a way of playing all three of Barnes, Gordon and Willock, despite all three of them ideally operating in very similar areas?

As well as the number of chances created, I think this trio are also our most gifted when it comes to carrying the ball, getting it up the pitch, going past opponents, creating danger.

Saturday at Fulham, will we see Harvey Barnes, Anthony Gordon and Joe Willock all in the starting eleven?

If so, I think we could be in for an interesting afternoon.

Newcastle United upcoming match schedule, confirmed to end of November:

Saturday 21 September 2024 – Fulham v Newcastle (3pm)

Tuesday 24 September 2024 – AFC Wimbledon v Newcastle (7.45pm) Sky Sports+

Saturday 28 September 2024 – Newcastle v Man City (12.30 pm) TNT Sports

Saturday 5 October – Everton v Newcastle (5.30pm) Sky Sports

Saturday 19 October – Newcastle v Brighton (3pm)

Sunday 27 October – Chelsea v Newcastle (2pm) Sky Sports

Saturday 2 November – Newcastle v Arsenal (12.30pm) TNT Sports

Sunday 10 November – Forest v Newcastle (2pm) Sky Sports