Newcastle United issues, Nick Woltemade, Yoane Wissa and connecting it all

It has been a difficult start to the season for Newcastle United. A lot has gone wrong; a lot has gone well.

We are in the bottom half of the table and have only won one away game in the league all season.

We are also in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup and have performed admirably in the Champions League so far.

We all know the different problems we have faced. The undignified behavior and departure of one striker and the immediate injury of his equal replacement. The lack of form from our wingers and often from our central midfielders, the absence of our first-choice wing-backs, some high-profile goalkeeping errors and an away form that has been downright pathetic.

Many of these issues become historical, or at least you would hope so.

Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento are back and showing everyone what a miss they were.

We should see Yoane Wissa this month and it has now been confirmed that he will not be disappearing to AFCON.

The central midfield, which was one of the best midfield trios in the country last season, is starting to click. We now have depth there too. Miley acquitted herself fantastically on the Hill Dickinson and both Ramsey and Willock looked confident and eager in their introduction from the bench. I imagine this is easier if you’re galloping to victory and not trying to save a race.

Harvey Barnes has great scoring form and Jacob Murphy has been productive when it comes to creating big chances. However, the two players who many thought would be our first-choice wingers at the start of the season have really struggled. Elanga produced his best performance of the season against Everton this weekend and his raw pace behind him helped win the corner that led to our immediate lead. He also assisted Woltemade thanks to another impressive sprint. Gordon has shown some moments in the Champions League, but has not produced much in the competition this season.

To continue the theme of the issues we’re facing this season, I’d say another is adapting to a new style of play.

Like I said, our like-for-like replacement for you knows who Yoane Wissa was and we haven’t seen him at all yet. I think with him in the team we would play a lot more like last season. His pace at the back would make us dangerous on the counter and more effective in the press.

Nick Woltemade has come in and I don’t think we have fully adapted to the tactical style of having a player with his profile in the team. He also had difficulty adapting, despite early goals. The first few games he didn’t seem physically ready and had no pressure at all. He often ran along the front line and did not hinder opposing defenders when out of possession. I think he’s been great so far and already looks a lot fitter than those first two or three games. He was bought from another league as a record signing and seems completely unfazed. He has scored important goals, he has integrated fantastically into the team and he connects immediately with the fans. But its features are so far removed from those of its predecessor.

You understand why Bayern wanted him and why he is so tickled to lose to us. He shares many of Kane’s traits: dropping deep, providing an option, opening up the game and showing strength on the ball.

I don’t think we’ve had a striker in our lives who is better at linking play. Be it layoffs, backheels, flicks, controlled volley passes, loft-through balls. He can do it all and often the first time. He makes the right decision 90% of the time and creates so much space for his teammates with the speed of his thinking and actions.

The only thing Kane hasn’t really mastered yet is getting into the box late and finishing emphatically. All of Woltemade’s objectives were aesthetically appealing. Two towering headers, two smart moves, a net-busting penalty and then a volley lob this weekend. However, we have yet to see him score what I would call a normal goal. There have been no taps, no strikes from just inside the box, no side-foot curlers. On Saturday he was denied a huge effort by a goal-line clearance. That would have fallen into my ‘normal goal’ category, apart from the abnormal (in a good way) control of the ball to shape the chance in the build-up.

Kane is a great finisher. He scores all kinds of goals and when the ball ends up at his feet anywhere from the goal line to just outside the penalty area, with room to shoot, you want him to bury it. If Woltemade can come close to Kane’s finishing ability, we have an astonishing prospect on our hands.

I’ve seen a popular theory that Woltemade is more of a number 10 than an out-of-out striker. I personally do not support this. He has all the technical qualities of a number 10 and could certainly operate that way this season, especially if we play him and Wissa together. But I think the opportunity he offers to others in the team at center could be huge once all our wingers are on form.

Woltemade is usually characterized by a central defender when playing in a forward position. When it sinks deeply, it is often followed, creating gaps. In Elanga and Gordon we have two of the fastest wingers in the Premier League. If they get anywhere near their best, they will have a feast of opportunities. Elanga already had one within the first minute against Everton. It was a good example of Woltemade coming in a bit, pulling Keane out of position, controlling brilliantly and releasing his teammate. The defense was immediately thrown into disarray and Elanga broke free to force the corner that led to the fastest Premier League goal of the season so far.

The problem is that those wingers are so quick that Woltemade is rarely in a position to make the most of a cutback. We need our other winger who can score early and ideally someone with pace from midfield. None of our main center three are lightning fast and neither is Miley, but Willock and Ramsey are both quick. Tonali could possibly offer the option if he played a little further forward.

I believe that when the ball gets to Woltemade, if a midfielder rushes forward to overtake him and either receives the through ball or is in and around the penalty area when one of the wingers breaks through, we will score many more goals on the overlap.

Nick Woltemade could provide great link-up play in the number 10 role, but I don’t think he will create the same amount of space as he is more likely to be picked up by a midfielder, while the defense remains flatter and more organised.

If we were playing with number 10, I would probably pick Barnes as my personal first choice. I read an article on The Athletic when we signed him that said he was the king of the one-two finish. That season he scored fourteen league goals, and the gist of the article was that a large part of that came because he cut in from the left, played a one-two with Vardy or another teammate and curled the return into the net.

We haven’t really seen that in Newcastle. Neither our former number 14 nor Wilson were real attackers. Although they were both technically gifted, they were generally boxing goalscorers. If we were to play number 10, and I’m not convinced we will, I would let Barnes rotate around Woltemade in a free role and wait for those flick-ons to support the attack or have a run on goal. He is effective from the left, but we have seen Barnes score from the right and centrally this season. He would personally be the player I would play as a striker ahead of Gordon if we ever had another frontline crisis. He is possibly the team’s best finisher and is excellent at getting into goal-scoring positions, although he may not be as natural at doing so when central to the attack.

I think if we have at least two wingers in form, they should have a game day with Nick Woltemade. With a warning number 10 or a midfielder quickly joining the overload, we will also see them score with their share of goals and assists.

Murphy is always solid. He doesn’t always do the right things in the build-up, but he conjures up exceptional deliveries when the opportunity presents itself. He is also no slouch on the counter.

Anthony Elanga put in a decent performance this weekend and we obviously need to see a lot more, but hopefully he’s starting to gain confidence and form.

I don’t know what’s going on with Anthony Gordon. He looks like a reverse Samson. Get that hair cut and see if he can get back to his best.

We have the likes of Willock and Ramsey who can provide options on the wing or as an overlapping central midfielder.

It will be interesting to see how things evolve once Yoane Wissa is back in the team, but I think it will often be him or Nick Woltemade. If we have both, we can have several different and effective ways to play.