I am seeing seven significant Newcastle United boosts – Just the one downside

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The Mag

·11 de fevereiro de 2025

I am seeing seven significant Newcastle United boosts – Just the one downside

Newcastle United, reasons to be cheerful.

Of course, when your team has won 12 of their last 14 matches, why wouldn’t you be cheerful?

Vídeos OneFootball

I want to talk specifically though, about the 14th match of that sequence.

I have read in more than a few places, that ‘Newcastle United avoided embarrassment against third tier Birmingham City.’

Well, Newcastle United were playing a third tier team and did avoid defeat – but ’embarrassment?’

In reality, Birmingham are already a second tier team/club. They are clear at the top and have two games in hand on the clubs chasing them.

Birmingham have very ambitious owners and have spent serious money on signings and the wage bill, in the summer they paid a reported £15m for striker Jay Stansfield, who had been on loan from Fulham.

Birmingham came into Saturday’s match having not lost at home all season in the league, indeed, they had lost only three of 32 matches (league and two main domestic cups) home and away, whilst on a run of 18 games unbeaten (all competitions).

Less than 72 hours before kick-off, Newcastle United had put everything into the second leg of their semi-final against Arsenal.

Eddie Howe making nine changes despite not having the strongest of squads, which had been further weakened by January sales of Kelly and Almiron to bring in £31m to improve the PSR position significantly going forward, but with no immediate replacements or team/squad strengthening.

Fair to make comparison with Liverpool who also made nine changes at the weekend BUT who have a far stronger squad, Arne Slot still able to name the likes of Jones and Nunez on his bench at Plymouth, whilst starting with players such as Jota, Kelleher, Gomez, Endo, Elliott, Quansah, Diaz and Chiesa.

Plymouth are effectively one place below Birmingham, 24th and rock bottom of the Championship. Liverpool not even scoring a goal as they meekly went out to a Plymouth side who have had a woeful season and preparing already for the third tier.

Anyway, I don’t want to talk about Liverpool here.

I wanted to talk about the Newcastle United positives and negatives (apologies to whoever did the usual three positives and three negatives for The Mag this match).

Negatives

Just the one really. Dan Burn forced to come off injured. Hopefully not serious.

Positives

Yes, I know you can say another negative when talking about the defending for the opening goal, but fair to say credit to Birmingham for their set-piece return whilst making nine changes and only seconds into the match, these things can happen. The other strike was a stunner, just one of those things.

With Newcastle United though, I want to talk about seven players.

I think in the circumstances especially (so many changes, a Birmingham team on the up and full of confidence, a referee who let some shocking thuggery from the home side go…), I don’t think these seven massive Newcastle United positives have been given proper recognition.

What they gave us on Saturday AND especially what it points to for the rest of the season (and beyond in certain cases hopefully).

Joe Willock

Poor recent form, a confidence player, the horrific online abuse, targeted by the opposition, one especially shocking incident seeing the defender have no intention of going for the ball, which was some 20 yards past him when the home player’s cowardly assault sent Willock off the pitch and into the advertising hoardings.

It would have been so so easy for Joe Willock to hide behind many of these things and just make his excuses and limp off the pitch.

Instead, he was magnificent. When winning three in a row against Chelsea, Forest and Arsenal in October/November, Joe Willock had reminded us how good he can be. On Saturday it was another reminder, man of the match and two goals, he could/can be such an important player for Newcastle in these next three and a bit massive months of football.

Callum Wilson

Very similar to Joe Willock. His first start of the season and so many injury issues, Wilson took a battering on Saturday as well. However, leading the line so well, he went through three challenges and his left foot cross set up the equaliser, then scored a very decent goal to put United 2-1 up, made it look easy. That was in just 55 minutes on the pitch, a Callum Wilson staying fit these next few months would be huge.

Nick Pope

Not an unknown but still a massive boost. First start for a good while and getting over an injury, Pope made a couple of top quality saves and could do nothing with the two goals. Took some good catches from crosses coming well off his line. Great to see Dubravka and Pope in such good form.

Emil Krafth

The phrase ‘never lets us down’ could be written for the Sweden international defender. I think he is even better at right centre-back than right-back and once again he underlined on Saturday why I never panic if I see his name in the starting eleven.

Matt Targett

Great to see the left-back getting over his injuries and illness. Some people far too quick to forget how good he was in that half season when he first arrived at NUFC, a key figure as United avoided relegation and NUFC the third best PL form in the entire second half of that 2021/22 season. I feel sorry for Lloyd Kelly because we never really got to see him have a run in the team. However, I saw him as a central defender first and foremost and I think Targett is a better left-back as back up, compared to Lloyd Kelly.

Will Osula

Speaking of departing players, would anybody honestly now prefer it if we had kept Almiron to come on ahead of Osula on the right wing???

Big, strong, quick and direct, only one of those could be applied to Miggy. What a display of promise from the inexperienced attacking player, who is now looking a real asset going forward, especially down that right side. All of this from a young player who was fouled repeatedly, I counted at least six poor challenges from the left-back on Osula and yet it was the Newcastle player who got booked for doing nothing wrong!

Will Osula another who can be an asset this season, as well as beyond that.

Lewis Miley

Which brings us to Miley.

He surely can’t be only 18???

What a player he is going to be and on the small number of occasions this season when he has played, the teenager has clearly grown physically and also as a player. Lewis Miley makes it look so effortless at times, the mark of class. Again, he was on the receiving end of some ridiculous challenges but just got on with it, played his part in the win.

He is another player who when he is on the pitch, I am never thinking this is a weakness.

So many big games to come and great to have these huge boosts, Newcastle United players showing they have the necessary if/when called upon.

Birmingham 2 Newcastle 3 – Saturday 8 February 2025 5.45pm

Newcastle United:

Willock 21, 82 Wilson 26

Birmingham:

Laird 1, Iwata 40

(Half-time stats in brackets)

Possession was Newcastle 63% (63%) Birmingham 37% (37%)

Total shots were Newcastle 16 (7) Birmingham 11 (6)

Shots on target were Newcastle 9 (5) Birmingham 6 (5)

Corners were Newcastle 3 (1) Birmingham 3 (1)