On Wednesday evening, Newcastle United qualified for their third Carabao Cup semi-final in four seasons.
If we pass Manchester City, Newcastle will have also qualified for as many finals in that time.
Heady stuff, especially when you consider that we had only been to Wembley once in this competition in our entire history, before the appointment of Eddie Howe.
Newcastle United have also not fallen behind a single game in this competition since the 2023 final.
It was quite a performance against Fulham. We were far from our best and we didn’t have many shots, but I think we controlled a lot of the game and although there weren’t many shots, the potential chances were.
There are a few things I wanted to discuss about the game and really it’s just an extension of the immediate response I gave that night.
Firstly, Yoane Wissa’s return to fitness has given us the weapon we’ve been missing so much. His introduction to our playing team could mean an upturn in performance and a new dimension to our playing style.
I think Nick Woltemade is a class act and I don’t think we’ve really learned how to function best with him in the team yet. We’re only four months into this and will have plenty of opportunity to get this right.
Wissa gives us more of what we had last season. He quickly puts pressure on the goalkeeper and defenders, forcing hasty clearances and hopefully more possession.
He has that killer instinct around the box. Thanks to his lucky but well-taken goal, he found himself in and around the six-yard box several more times. The pullbacks and crosses weren’t quite there every time, but on another day he could have had a hat-trick of tap-ins.
This is what I meant when I said there were plenty of potential opportunities.
We placed a lot of balls in decent areas and broke the lines at times, but didn’t quite get the final pass right. Wissa was constantly alert. His movement and positioning were top notch. Considering he’s not even fully fit or at optimal sharpness at the moment, that bodes well for us. Over time we could see Wissa as the new main beneficiary of that wonderful company Murphy’s Supplies.
The really interesting thing about Wednesday night was the tactical shift. You regularly see teams like Man City and Liverpool have their full-backs drift into midfield when in possession, to provide an extra option and break up the opposition.
Both Livramento and Miley were doing this on Wednesday. Livramento in particular was on the border of recreating total football. He bombed the left, wandered to the center and even found himself joining in on the right at times.
It wasn’t always beneficial. He didn’t make the best decision every time or execute what he tried, but it was a promising first attempt at a changed role. Miley did the same from right back, moving into the center to give us an extra body in midfield. He wasn’t as comprehensive as Tino, but it seemed like they both had new instructions.
This left the two centre-backs alone to clear the danger, but often Bruno would also get deep, and he would constantly try to get back when Fulham countered.
Is this something we’re likely to see more of?
Eddie Howe is criticized for having only one way of playing. It’s a stubborn 4-3-3 and that’s it, his critics would say.
I don’t think this view gives him much credit. He does have his favorite way to play, but it’s not the only thing he ever does.
He has played with a back five and we have seen him make effective adjustments before. Schar’s free roll, the man who marked Declan Rice in the second leg of last year’s semi-final, anyone?
I think this new system, with inverted wing-backs, could be something we see a lot more of. It would be good to see Eddie Howe test a 4-2-3-1 at some point, with a number 10 behind our striker. We have several players who could be effective as a number 10. The obvious options for me are Barnes, Woltemade and Bruno.
With two attackers with completely different profiles, we need to have multiple ways to get the best out of both of them. Could we even see the pair together up front in a throwback big man/little man combo?
Lewis Hall was unavailable on Wednesday, but I have no doubt he could carry out this reverse job at full-back comfortably. I can’t think of many pairs of fullbacks better designed to fill such a role than Hall and Livramento.
I think the only thing missing is a second defender with speed. Schar, Burn and Botman are all reliable defenders. However, on the counter, with our full-backs committed to attacking, their lack of pace could be a problem.
Bruno isn’t the fastest, but did a good job of dropping them and protecting them. I think Tonali would be best suited for that role in the long run. His speed, strength, determination and durability make him the ideal midfielder and he could compensate for the lack of mobility of some of our back line.
I doubt this new tactic will be used every game, especially with so many defensive injuries to address. But I think it could be a sign of ways in which Newcastle United want to expand our playing style in the future.
If United could sign another defender of Thiaw’s profile this summer, I think we would be perfectly equipped to utilize this style of play more regularly.
You can follow the author on Twitter @billymerlin
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