‘Bit flat’… TalkSPORT pundit says one Newcastle player has been looking fatigued for weeks now

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Andy Townsend has now admitted that he thinks one Newcastle United player has looked tired for weeks following their defeat to Chelsea.

Newcastle have had a few disappointing results in the last few weeks that has seen them drop down the league, be knocked out of the Champions League and exit the Carabao Cup.

TalkSPORT pundit Andy Townsend is now suggesting that Kieran Trippier, who was at fault for the goal last night, has been running on fumes for over a month now.

Townsend thinks Trippier could do with a rest

Although he was missing for Newcastle’s most recent Premier League fixture against Fulham and didn’t start last night’s cup game, Trippier still doesn’t look like he’s in the right place mentally.

Townsend referred back to the Bournemouth game last month where Newcastle were comfortably beaten and suggested that this was the first time Trippier had looked off of his game for a while.

Since then, the 33-year-old has still had his strong performances, but ultimately he’s looked tired and out of sorts in most games that he’s played in, particularly against Tottenham and Everton.

It could be that he needs an extended period out of the team, but that would mean losing a key player in some big upcoming games for Newcastle, so Howe has a big decision to make on his immediate future.

On talkSPORT, Townsend said: “A tough night for Newcastle, for Eddie obviously and for Kieran Trippier, who has been I think has been transformative for the dressing room, for the club, for everything.

“He has been a brilliant signing. Funnily enough, that Bournemouth game where he had that little altercation with a couple of the fans that he took umbrage to, I think one or two might have been having a little bit of a go and he wasn’t happy.

“That day, [Marcus] Tavernier gave him a tough time, he looked a little bit flat then.

“Now, again it’s been something they’ve been speaking about then at Newcastle in terms of fatigue and injuries and everything seems to be mounting up and catching up with them.

“Doesn’t matter how good you are or how experienced you are, Kieran is certainly a very good player and vastly experienced now and he’s a leader in that dressing room, sure everyone has bad spells and bad moments, he won’t moan about it, he’ll take it on the chin and just keep going.

“That is literally, when you’re having a bad time, you’ve just got to keep going, hope you keep getting picked and then it’s amazing how something goes the other way for you.”

Newcastle are struggling with individual errors

It’s not just Trippier that has been looking tired over the last few weeks, players like Anthony Gordon and Miguel Almiron have also looked like they need a bit of a rest, but injuries mean there’s not much of an option but to play them.

Because of that, mistakes are starting to creep into the game and while the overall performance may be good from the team, the system cannot succeed if players are consistently making individual errors.

It’s unfortunate for Trippier because his errors have led to goals because of the nature of his position and the risks he has to take, but that doesn’t mean his teammates haven’t been making similar mistakes further up the pitch, you just don’t hear about it as often.