BBC pundit Danny Murphy felt that the defending and unwillingness to acknowledge the tactical dangers against Tottenham Hotspur was Championship-worthy by Newcastle United.
Despite blowing the roof of St James’ Park when Callum Wilson scored in the second minute, Newcastle’s defensive frailties reared their ugly head once again.
Newcastle eventually succumbed to a 3-2 defeat.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side exposed Steve Bruce’s high-line tactic and Newcastle didn’t have the tactical nous to adapt in-game which led to criticism by Murphy.
Speaking on Match of the Day, Murphy said: “There was so much hope and excitement around the place and rightly so, but unfortunately it was the same old Newcastle on the pitch again.”
The former England midfielder felt Bruce’s side were “all over the place” at times and should have moved away from the high defensive line tactic we adopted, which proved costly.
Murphy added: “Tottenham realised quite quickly what they needed to do, they stopped trying to play through [the lines] and played longer balls. The first long ball they played in the game, they ended up scoring from.
“When there is no pressure on the ball you have to drop and the Newcastle back four were making the wrong decisions. There was a lack of communication and they were all over the place at times.”
Murphy felt that Newcastle’s tactic played into Tottenham’s hands and especially their talisman Harry Kane.
The BBC pundit continued: “They kept playing this high-line and against Tottenham with the players they have got, that’s the worst thing you can do against one of the best strikers in the world.”
Although those high-line tactics were probably deployed by Bruce, Murphy felt the Magpies’ backline should have acknowledged the danger themselves and made a drastic change.
But Newcastle’s defence didn’t and that led to Murphy labelling the club’s defensive performance as “Championship defending”.
Murphy continued: “You have to sometimes manage the players around you and the tactics in a game yourself. Yes your manager sets up a plan, but sometimes when you can see you keep on getting caught by the long ball, you have got to drop off as a team and the communication was poor.
“It was Championship defending.”
Maybe Danny Murphy is right when you think that Jamal Lascelles, Ciaran Clark and Matt Ritchie were all part of the Newcastle side playing week in, week out in the Championship.
It highlights the lack of funding Mike Ashley injected into the club and the task the new owners have tightening up the league’s leakiest defence in January.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
