Newcastle came crashing back down to earth on Saturday, and so did Mo Diame.
The midfielder appeared to be getting back to his best alongside Ki Sung-yueng, but that all changed against West Ham.
Diame was sluggish in possession, and didn’t have the usual tenacity in the middle of the park. He was one of many poor performers at St James’ Park, as the Magpies’ winning run came to an end.
Diame didn’t impress the Newcastle fans
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When Newcastle are seeing a lot of the ball like they did on Saturday, Diame is nowhere near as effective. He’s at his best when we’re on the back foot and he can win back possession.
Against West Ham, we saw much more of the ball than usual, but Diame often didn’t know what to do with it. It was very reminiscent of one of his performances from our season in the Championship.
While Ki looked to spread the play and get us playing in the right areas, Newcastle’s number 10 just seemed powerless.
However, this bad performance does not mean he should be dropped. With Everton up next, there is no way we will have as much of the ball.
The 31-year-old will have an important role at Goodison Park, trying to stop the likes of Andre Gomes influence proceedings.
If we were against a lower team, then maybe you could make a case for the former West Ham man to lose his place. But with Everton looking much better this season under Marco Silva, we need someone like Diame to get in their faces.
Drop him, and we could be on the end of another hammering.
