There is still clearly a huge amount of fragility in the Newcastle United squad.
Tripper brought a calmness to the team which Burn took over when Trippier got injured. But Burn at Tottenham was abysmal and no one else stepped up in that 2nd half to calm everyone down and get a grip on the game, so it was just a return to the dark days of a team without a leader or a plan, or anyone to get hold of the game when it started to slip away.
Allan Saint Maximin seems to have made his mind up about staying and struggles when he is asked to play as part of a structured team. It’s no wonder he raved about Bruce, someone who allegedly didn’t organise or coach anything and just told them to go out and play. Now he is being asked to do all the modern footballer stuff of tracking back, working hard and playing as part of a team, he has clearly thought stuff this, I am off. It brings into question whether or not you even play him in this final run in.
Burn was lucky not to get sent off in the build up to the 5th goal as he fouled Mora just as he played the ball. It was one of the strangest 2nd half performances I have seen in a long time. We had the template to beat them with the first half performance, and then started chasing the game and doing old Newcastle stuff like leaving the defence hopelessly unprotected and playing higher and higher up the pitch.
This against two of the best counter attacking players in the league, almost like we had never seen Spurs play before.
I am baffled by that 2nd half, I just don’t get how you can go from knowing what to do to beat them, to doing exactly what Leeds did when they got stuffed by them, and give them the freedom of your own half to run into, time and time again.
As if Eddie Howe hadn’t done enough damage, he then moved Shelvey into a back 3 and took off the centre forward for a central defender! Words don’t often fail me but how on earth do you explain that 2nd half to anyone, considering we were in such a good position at half time to get something from the game.
We are going to need 5 points from these next 3 home games and then 3 points from the remaining 5. It’s still in our hands and we are still in a good position to stay up.
It’s just crazy how we have gone from looking so composed, with one of the meanest defences in the league, to the old Newcastle, within the space of a couple of games.
There is clearly a long, long way to go, and much better players over the summer will help eradicate this mentality that is still plaguing the squad.
What do you think? As ever, we would welcome your comments, opinions and views below.
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