Eddie Howe answers if he regrets dropping Nick Woltemade for Newcastle United vs Barcelona

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Eddie Howe made the difficult decision to drop Nick Woltemade for Newcastle United’s Champions League game against Barcelona.

Woltemade’s debut against Wolves was outstanding, leading to excitement from fans over the prospect of him facing Barcelona.

However, the 23-year-old began the game as a substitute. Anthony Gordon started up front, as Newcastle lost 2-1 to Barcelona in their opening Champions League match of the season.

The giant German was introduced in the second half but barely touched the ball. When he did, he contributed towards the Magpies’ only goal of the night.

Coming out of the game, there is a feeling that things might have been different had Woltemade started. However, Eddie Howe has defended his decision.

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Eddie Howe explains why Nick Woltemade did not start against Barcelona

Following Newcastle’s loss to Barcelona, Howe has spoken to the media.

The Newcastle United manager was asked whether or not he regrets his decision to start Gordon up front over Woltemade.

“I can’t live in that world,” he said.

“I have to make decisions for the benefit of the players.

“It was a really difficult one for Nick. Any player would want to start every game, but I’ve got to try to manage him into the team and make sure he stays fit. That was always at the heart of this decision, knowing that we have Anthony [Gordon] suspended for the next game as well.”

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The Magpies’ start to the season has been dominated by striker troubles. That appeared to change on Saturday when Woltemade made his debut and guided Newcastle to victory.

However, he did struggle with the intensity and was cramping up within an hour. Alarm bells will have been ringing for Howe ever since that moment.

In a perfect world, Woltemade would have started on Thursday and received a rest on Sunday against Bournemouth. However, that is complicated by the lack of striker options Newcastle will have at the Vitality Stadium.

Gordon will be suspended again, while Yoane Wissa is injured. He is out until after the next international break, which is proving to be an even bigger blow than anticipated.

Given the lack of options, Howe felt he had to protect Woltemade for Sunday. That is understandable, but also feels ludicrous given the magnitude of Thursday’s Champions League date with Barcelona.

The Toon boss was looking at the bigger picture, but the feeling from Toon fans is that a mistake was made.