I wrote that about Newcastle United in anger and frustration, so having calmed down… | OneFootball

On Saturday I wrote something post-match about Newcastle United.

That most recent previous article of mine on The Mag, was written in anger/frustration.

So having calmed down a bit…

I have a few thoughts about what could possibly be the reasons for the poor (by the high standards Eddie Howe has set) Newcastle United performances this season.

I can see a slight improvement from the intensity part, where we started with doing it in the first 15 minutes against Southampton to now maybe, a constant pressing for half an hour.

It is small wonder that new players took some time before Eddie Howe trusts them to play, as pressing requires simultaneous approach from the top and backed up by the midfielders.

We used to get goals or create chances from that, but sadly now, it seems team can just bypass the pressing with ease.

Last season’s horrible injury situation may affect the Eddie Howe approach to a high intensity game.

When you have players with good ball control like Man City and Brighton, once they score, they will keep the ball forever.

One thing I noticed is that, when Anthony Gordon pressed, he really chased after the opposition, head up.

However, Isak, he always starts with head down. Those who play any sports, will know that when you run with head down, it is either you summon your will to run, or you are just flat out tired.

My coach used to ask us to do 10 laps before allowing us to play and after we cheated at lap nine, he asked us to do three more laps, hence the groan and heads down running/jog.

Those with good stamina will run like Gordon and, you know what I mean. So either Isak hates chasing after the goalie or he did not have the required level of stamina against Brighton after having missed a month without playing.

Transition

Pep Guardiola did compliment Newcastle United last season for being dangerous in transition. From defending to scoring, in less than five touches.

Think back further to Bruno v Leicester or Isak vs Liverpool, twice.

Also, in April 2023, Newcastle v Tottenham, one of them must be in transition hopefully, as I didn’t have the time to watch it for the 100th time, pus many other glorious shows of our peak transition mode.

Now we also are dangerous in transition, but this time, it is on us. Bournemouth, Wolves and Fulham came to mind. Opponents seemed to allow us to have the ball for the first 20 or 30 minutes, crowd in the penalty box and let us play the intricate pass on the wings before booting out the ball. The super glue seems to have dried on Isak’s boot and Gordon is no longer Flash. So, we depend on Barnes curler and Schar’s long-ranger as source of goals.

Against Brighton, there were some flashes of how we played last season. The best two chances fall to Isak and Gordon, via a lovely though pass. Both times they are ahead of the last defender but fail. We played to our strength, hence we played better against attacking teams as we have fast players in Barnes, Isak and Gordon to unlock high press teams.

The intricate wing plays leading to goals or shot attempts we used to see on the right with the Longstaff, Trippier and Almiron axis of the top four season were no longer there. If we persist to play like this, a creative midfielder or winger is a must.

Try manfully as they would, Gordon and Barnes just don’t have the technical ability to pass the ball to Isak in a crowded box as often as we would like.

Pattern of Play

Is it my critical self, or is it true that when we are faced with teams employing high block, we struggled to move to the opposition half?

Whether it is Tonali or Bruno, we struggle to beat the press. More frequent than not, in frustration Bruno will make his normal half turn, and either he would be disposed or invite a foul from the opposition.

Does this sound familiar?

Pope pass to Schar, then Schar to Burn, Burn to Schar and Schar to Tino. Tino will pass to Pope, and Pope to Hall. Hall to Bruno and Bruno to Pope, and Pope recycle to Tino. Tino pass beautifully to Burn who barely controls the ball, poke to Hall and Hall pass to Schar. Schar makes a beautiful crossfield pass to Gordon, crowd gets excited and Gordon slows down to find a perfect pass, penalty box gets crowded and pass to overlapping Hall, who again passes to Gordon, who took the ball to byline and his cross is blocked for a corner. Not having scored from a set-piece, the defender and goalie high five each other and wait for Newcastle United to head the ball out, or gently to the arms of the keeper.

What about this

Bruno and Joelinton playing tiki-taka in the midfield, looking to pass to Alexander Isak who is guarded by three players, changed his mind, looking for Trippier. Just as he wanted to pass to Trippier, he saw Tino. Bruno stopped and just realised that Trippier is benched or unfit, and he turns towards Joelinton, another tiki-taka ensue.

Now, Murphy is free, but Bruno decided to thread a pass to Isak. Not that he doesn’t like Murphy but… his last good juicy cross was last season.

Being guarded by three players and not having the confidence of last season, the defender easily took the ball from Isak and started another attack. Captain Bruno head down, runs as fast as possible to cover Schar/Burn who manfully trying to get back to defensive position and hoping Taavenier/Raul/Wellbeck don’t score. If Joelinton is nearby, he will foul the fastest player, and angrily complain to the ref for giving him a yellow card.

Just observe Botman pre-injury. When opponents scored against us in a 4-1 win, you could see him rage or being angry. At himself or his teammate, I am not going to ask. We need that anger and fire, now more than ever.

IMAGO/News Images

Formation

The discussion around systems and formations can get quite technical, at least for me. And the most difficult part to write, but I try.

As I understand it, even if we line up in a 4-3-3, the formation shifts depending on the phase of the game.

For instance, we might transition into a 4-1-4-1 when attacking or drop into a 4-2-3-1 while defending. There are countless variations throughout a match.

I think Howe chooses this formation for the flexibility of interchanging roles. There will never be a 4-3-3 from start to end. It is meant for them to group, check each other position, and change based on situations. This is where Trippier excels, barking orders and instruction. Bruno on the other hand, focuses on geeing up the fans. Both have their own merits and weaknesses.

Then, there’s the matter of personnel.

A 4-3-3 with Trippier on the right is not the same as one with Livramento. Similarly, having Burn at left-back creates a different dynamic compared to when Hall plays.

We also need to keep in mind that the opposition isn’t just showing up blind, they’ve studied how we play and will have their own strategies to counter us. They, like us, also have their own data analyst and take advantage of weakness and be wary of our strength, such as the Barnes curler and Bruno though pass etc.

Finally, the oft mentioned question is, if we want to replace our midfield, who should we replace them with?

I am one of the few/many that suggest we should rest, not replace, one or both Brazilians for a few games.

Admittedly, our team is a bit stale, especially the midfield.

We have two choices, to stick with our current midfield, or change for a few games, rest them or unleash them at the 60th minute. We need the sense of unpredictability.

At our current form, what do we have to lose?

One thing for sure, the squad players will be motivated to impress the coach and retain their place in the first eleven. Longstaff, Willock and Tonali could start together. Might improve their form. Give Tonali the Bruno role and see how he fares. Chuck the Brazilian on in the second half against tiring opponents. After all, do you expect us to beat Chelsea and Arsenal in our current form?