Howe must finally drop 5/10 Newcastle star who had fewer touches than Pope
By Angus Sinclair
21 – 27 minutes
Newcastle United’s three-match winning run in all competitions came to an end when West Ham United handed them a reality check at St. James’ Park in the Premier League.
The 2-0 scoreline was largely deserved by the revived Hammers, who did benefit from the home side’s profligacy. Julen Lopetegui has shouldered some weighty pressure in recent weeks and a Magpies victory could have been damning for the Spanish tactician.
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe-1
Alas, Newcastle sit in tenth but remain just four points off Arsenal in the top four, with top-flight fixtures against Crystal Palace and Liverpool now forthcoming.
However, the missed chance to go within two points of second-placed Manchester City will rankle some. Optimism and anticipation spread like the fever on Tyneside, but prove to be equally noxious when such belief fails to be matched on the field.
Heading into the fixture, Dan Burn was sidelined after accumulating five yellow cards. His hulking presence was sorely missed.
Newcastle struggle without Dan Burn
Burn has been an utter stalwart for Howe’s Newcastle, signed as he was from Brighton & Hove Albion for a £13m fee back in January 2022.
Dan Burn and Eddie Howe for Newcastle
One of the harbingers of the exciting new era, and frustrating in his absence on Monday evening, for the stability and steel that the 32-year-old brings has been indispensable for Howe’s side this season, especially as Sven Botman continues to work toward the end of his rehabilitation.
This season, the 6 foot 6 giant had played every Premier League minute before his suspension, completing 90% of his passes, winning 60% of his duels and averaging 4.4 clearances per game, as per Sofascore.
In his stead, Lloyd Kelly struggled to perform. Post match, the Chronicle Live branded him with a 5/10 match rating and wrote:
‘Switched off for the opener and did not take what was a big opportunity. Dan Burn will walk straight back into the team after his ban.’
Kelly wasn’t awful, but the difference was noticeable. He failed to complete each of his five attempted long balls and did little for the fluency of the home team.
Newcastle defender Lloyd Kelly against Jarrod Bowen
After scoring big Premier League victories over Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, and having knocked Chelsea out of the Carabao Cup before that, Newcastle have been knocked down a peg and served a slice of reality. There is much to work on.
One thing that seems certain is that Sean Longstaff is perhaps not performing to the level that would reinforce Howe’s decision to continually start him in the middle of the park. Failing to impress against the Hammers, the homegrown talent might need to be dropped for the upcoming winter matches.
Why Howe must brutally ditch Sean Longstaff
West Ham won 60% of the duels at St. James’ Park on Monday evening, something that contributed toward the brusing defeat. Against Arsenal in the previous Tyneside clash, Newcastle won 57% of the duels – therein lies the problem.
Newcastle 0-2 West Ham (Match Stats)
NUFC
Statistics
WHU
0
Goals
2
18 (2)
Shots (on target)
15 (6)
2
Big chances missed
0
52.4%
Possession
47.6%
8
Corners
3
21 (62%)
Tackles (%)
27 (74%)
40%
Duels won
60%
Stats via Sofascore
Longstaff was emblematic of this struggle, flimsy and ineffective in his central midfield deployment. He lost four of his six contested ground duels and failed to complete his only attempted dribble, suggesting that he lacked the requisite progression to propel the hosts forward too.
Moreover, Longstaff failed to complete a single key pass despite leaving the field with a 91% pass success rate. What does that tell us? Well, considering that his 32 touches were less than that of Nick Pope (35), it would appear that the 27-year-old failed to assert himself and take control of proceedings.
Jarrod-Bowen-Joelinton
Make no mistake, he wasn’t the only Magpie to toil. Bruno Guimaraes had an uncharacteristically shoddy evening, while Joe Willock was withdrawn at the break after picking up a knock. His performance, in fairness, appeared to have been hampered by this issue.
Longstaff suffered no such misfortune, though still failed to impress and was rightly taken off before the hour mark, handed a 5/10 score and lambasted for losing ‘possession a couple of times with ruthless Howe taking him off before the hour mark for Sandro Tonali.’
Sean Longstaff for Newcastle
Also bemoaned for ball watching as West Ham scythed through black and white defences and Aaron Wan-Bissaka scored his third Premier League goal (two of which, believe it or not, have now been posted at St. James’ Park), Longstaff cannot retain his starting berth next weekend.
The trip to Selhurst Park is starting to look rather important and three points must be clinched, lest the bulk of the congested European-place-challenging pack pull away.
Tonali didn’t make that much of an impact when brought on but his silky passing and superior duel success – the Italian yields a 56% success rate across the campaign so far – bespeak his suitability. It’s time for Howe to ring the change.
Lewis Miley, 18, will be hoping to make an impact once again as he nears a return from injury, and while Joelinton’s dynamism has seen him operate in frontal positions of late, his robustness makes for a meaty midfield partnership with compatriot Guimaraes.
Lewis Miley scores for Newcastle
Unfortunately, for all Longstaff’s industriousness, he was lacking in quality and conviction against West Ham, and it might be time to demote him to the bench against Crystal Palace, with victory so important – especially since Liverpool trip to Tyneside in the next match.
It’s a setback, but Newcastle have displayed their powers of recovery before and will be determined to bounce back and fight toward continental qualification. Longstaff, however, must be dropped to steady the ship.
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe-2
Related
80% duels lost: Newcastle must boldly drop 4/10 ace who’s badly “regressed”
Howe’s Newcastle side were defeated at St. James’ Park by struggling West Ham.
