I’ve been thinking about Newcastle United’s performance against Brentford on Sunday and the aftermath in terms of fan reaction.
I have also wondered about a number of incidents that seem to have been completely missed in the commotion surrounding the two criminal cases.
First of all, the match.
After the debacle at West Ham, I really expected a reaction when we finished against Brentford. I didn’t expect an easy match. Brentford are a decent and hardworking side and appear to have replaced an excellent manager with one who is very capable indeed.
After taking the lead (again), I thought to myself, “Here we go – get in.” Unfortunately, the boys (and Eddie Howe) didn’t listen and the whole thing went pear-shaped.
But first and foremost my first under-the-radar incident. What about that assist from Big Nick Woltemade that set up Harvey Barnes’ beautiful goal. Harvey had plenty to do to wrap things up, but he wouldn’t have had the chance without one more deft and completely deliberate move from Lord Voldemorte.
When the ball was cleared for Jacob Murphy on the right sideline, Murph did what he often does: straight into the danger zone. Exactly what Big Nick was pointing to, to be exact. Nick must have the peripheral vision of a barn owl as he immediately backhanded the ball as it arrived, straight into the path of Barnes who finished sublimely. Leaving a bunch of defenders flat on their backs. The commentators didn’t even mention it (the Herr movie). To no one’s surprise.
It’s hard to pinpoint where it all went wrong after that, but the focus was squarely on our other ‘big’ boy: Big Dan Burn. Which brings me nicely to my other under the radar incident.
In the second minute, Joelinton suffered a nasty blow to the leg during a challenge with Dango Ouatarra – which was finally unleashed on Sunday afternoon. It was a 50-50 challenge and I don’t know if Ouatarra went into it with any real intention. However, I saw Brennan Johnson sent off in midweek for a much more innocuous challenge against a Copenhagen player and, after watching the replay, wondered whether VAR would intervene.
Of course they couldn’t, as Winifred Attwell hadn’t really decided on the challenge and a throw-in was the result. I suppose if I couldn’t decide whether there was foul play, the referee couldn’t either, to be honest. It begs the question what would have happened if he had. Not only at that moment (where VAR can intervene), but later in the game.
Ouatarra, who was at the center of that incident, continued to torment Big Dan more and more as the match progressed. Then he is not someone who avoids a physical challenge with legs or hands. Then he pushed his luck as far as he could – and then some.
The first penalty incident looked full speed ahead but Mr Attwell (he’s only Winifred when he makes bad decisions) took a stand for fairness in the box and not only refused the pen but also carded Dango for his rather theatrical dive. VAR then came into play and, amazingly, exercised common sense and refused to reward the playmaker. Contact happens anywhere on the field, but it doesn’t necessarily mean a foul – just ask Joey.
Even before that, I was yelling at the screen for Eddie to get Big Dan out of the line of fire. He already got a yellow card and Ouatarra had him on toast. Nice guy Eddie could surely see what the rest of us could see. Unfortunately, that was not to be. Either there’s more wrong with Lewis Hall than we think, or Eddie was just imagining Dan weathering the storm, as he has sometimes done before, to be honest.
The second pen seemed to me even less of a sincere claim than the first. A bit of desperate swing from Burn missed the mark and Ouatarra went down like you knew he would. Has there been contact? You can’t tell from the angles I’ve seen, but if the first one was classified as insufficiently powerful to be relevant, then I don’t understand how this one wasn’t. The only thing in VAR’s favor, I think, was Big Dan’s meek acceptance of the verdict.
So we lose again along the way. The worrying thing, however, is not so much the loss as the way it happens. We were largely toothless. We had a lot of ball possession, but apart from the goal in the first quarter of the match, we didn’t do anything significant with it.
There are many factors to consider and many questions to ask. Well in the aftermath. a few comments caught my attention.
One of these was the suggestion that some players were unhappy with the way Isak was being treated and were starting to pull back on their efforts. Something that likely stems from the poor recent form of Anthony Gordon and Sven Botman who both wrote encouraging posts for the Rat on social media. Not only do I find this suggestion completely guano crazy, but I also object to the idea that someone should be criticized for supporting a friend. I was raised to believe that that was a virtue.
The whole Isak thing has definitely had an effect on the field. Not only did it rob us of a top striker, but – because the commanders-in-chief tried to persuade us to let him desert on the cheap – it also prevented us from quickly striking a deal to secure a replacement. We still suffer from the lack of a big, fast and powerful striker.
I think another major factor holding us back is the continued absence of the two young lads, who for me are the best full-back pairing in the Premier League. Those guys will be back, but who will hand out the starting numbers when they go out for the warm-up?
By no means am I advocating replacing Eddie Howe, or even saying he SHOULD be under pressure. But if the current trend of poor away performances continues, the reality of professional football could overtake even Nice Guy Eddie.
Why does it always have to be 4 3 3 when we are overrun in midfield and we seem unable to continue playing? Why on earth wasn’t Dan Burn subbed – or better yet, moved to left centre-back and Botman left? Why do we seem to keep playing injured players? Why do so many players look so jaded so soon into the season?
These are fair questions and Eddie Howe and his players need to come up with the answers, not in words and Instagram posts, but in action on the pitch.
One final thought.
I read an article on The Mag today (Monday) with a headline reporting that Jamie Carragher thought Eddie Howe couldn’t take the club further. Obviously a lot of people commented on that without actually reading what he said (in the comments section of The Mag – Definitely not!).
What Spit the Dog actually said was actually my defense of Eddie. He has been running the playing side of the club almost single-handedly for some time now, with a distinct lack of visible support from the board and owners. The change of personnel at board level, the ransoming of our goalscoring crown jewel, lengthy negotiations over player replacements, improved training and stadium plans – all shrouded in secrecy and moving at a glacial pace, with only Eddie at the sharp end of dealing with the media and public.
#Brentford