Lewis Miley was the star of the show as Newcastle United beat Bromley 3-1 in the FA Cup.
The Magpies had to come from behind at St James’ Park after Bromley opened the scoring eight minutes in, but Newcastle United battled hard and booked their spot in the FA Cup fourth round where they will face Birmingham City.
On his return to the starting lineup, Lewis Miley equalised for Newcastle with a thumping effort from range. Anthony Gordon fired the hosts into the lead from the penalty spot before William Osula capped off the victory with his first goal for the club.
Eddie Howe has been careful with Miley this season after he missed the start of the campaign through injury, but his performance on Sunday suggests he is more than ready to return to his first-team plans.
Miley has given Howe a selection headache for the next few matches as the 18-year-old was clearly the best player on the pitch against Bromley.
Newcastle United fans rave about Lewis Miley vs Bromley
Howe’s heavily-rotated side against Bromley gave Miley his first opportunity to play a full 90 minutes this season. It’s fair to say he took the opportunity with both hands.
Newcastle fans flooded to social media after full-time to give their thoughts on Miley, and they all made a similar point that also includes teammate Sean Longstaff.
One supporter wrote: “Lewis Miley should be ahead of Longstaff in the midfield pecking order in my opinion. It would be ludicrous to say that off a one-off game, but Miley’s at an age where he needs as many first team minutes as he can get and of course, he’s a better player.”
A second posted: “Miley is so many levels above Longstaff”, while a third added: “Longstaff having a difficult time out there; falling down the pecking order even more so with Miley showing his class once again.”
Another supporter praised Miley but was less impressed by his tattoo… “Made up for his mistake quickly, he’ll learn from it. He’s miles clear of Longstaff for me. Just can’t unsee that tattoo,” he said.
A fourth fan wrote: “Even before that goal you could just see Miley is miles ahead of everyone here.”
Finally, a Newcastle supporter said: “Some may not agree but Lewis Miley is now ahead of Longstaff in the pecking order, he’s the future and can be trusted against better opposition.”
Sean Longstaff’s Newcastle future in doubt
If Miley was the biggest positive to Newcastle’s performance, unfortunately Longstaff was one of the biggest negatives.
The 27-year-old often looked uninterested and struggled to build up any tempo against the League Two outfit.
READ MORE: Five players Newcastle United simply must axe in 2025 including £120k-a-week star
Longstaff failed to impress after his contract was extended, and fans were clearly asking questions of his future at St James’ Park.
Reports suggest Longstaff is open to leaving Newcastle and with the Magpies needing to raise cash for PSR, he is one option the club could consider this January.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
