One Newcastle United player helped to equal a club record for his Championship side this weekend as the Magpies fell to a late defeat.
Newcastle loanee Ryan Fraser has been enjoying life on the south coast as he scored his fifth goal of the season, third in his last five matches, to help Southampton record their 20th game in a row without defeat.
The Scottish winger took to Instagram where he celebrated equalling the club record of games without defeat and congratulated fellow former Magpie Adam Armstrong for getting on the score sheet as well.
Fraser enjoying life away from Newcastle
Having fallen out with Eddie Howe during last season, Fraser was cast out of the first-team squad and banished to train with the youth sides as his future at Newcastle looked very much in doubt.
Strangely enough, Newcastle could perhaps have done with Fraser at times this season with the right side of the attack being very thin aside from Miguel Almiron, but the winger had clearly done something bad to annoy the very level headed Howe.
Now, with Fraser out on loan at Championship side Southampton, the 29-year-old looks to be recapturing his best form which he showed with Bournemouth in the Premier League after impressing Southampton’s manager Russell Martin.
But for anyone thinking that Fraser’s form on loan may give him a chance to work his way back into the Newcastle squad, the Scottish international has already quashed any rumours of a possible return.
On Instagram, Fraser said: “20 games unbeaten to equal the club record at this amazing place, the lads were incredible today and nice to get on the score sheet again! @adamarma on fire as always.”
Fraser fallout shows Howe can be ruthless at Newcastle
Howe often gets criticised for his lack of ruthlessness at Newcastle and wanting to try and please those that the club should maybe look at moving on, but the saga with Fraser suggests otherwise.
When he needs to be and when it is the best choice for the club, Howe can be ruthless and banish someone from the team entirely, it’s just that he’s developed such a positive dressing room in the two years he’s been here.
It’s easy to say from the outside that characters like Dan Burn or Sean Longstaff, for example, need to be moved on for players with better quality, but we’ve seen what splashing the cash on lots of talented players can do at Chelsea.
Clearly Howe knows there isn’t a lot to spend at the club, which would explain why he’s retained so many fringe players, but with the little money he does have he wants to be able to find the right characters to fit in with the squad.
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