Eddie Howe was impressed with Lewis Miley and Joe Willock during Newcastle United’s Premier League draw with Bournemouth on Sunday.
With such a demanding schedule in play this season, the Newcastle United manager made seven changes to the side who lost to Barcelona in the Champions League on Thursday.
Among those to drop out of the team down on the south coast were Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton.
Miley and Willock replaced them as Howe changed the system somewhat. Both players have attracted criticism from a section of supporters online, although the fact they are struggling for game time cannot be ignored.
It seems somewhat reasonable to expect them both to improve when they get into the rhythm of playing more often. While not to completely absolve them of criticism, context must be applied.
The depth of the Newcastle United squad will be Howe’s biggest asset this season. He simply has to rotate, or his side risk the kind of injury crisis that decimated them during the 2023/24 campaign.
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Eddie Howe speaks on Joe Willock and Lewis Miley
Clearly, neither of the two are first-choice midfielders at Newcastle right now.
Still, Newcastle rate Miley very highly behind the scenes and, at some point, he may grow into being an established star.
Comparing them to the likes of Joelinton, Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali also feels harsh. That particular trio were widely heralded as the best midfield unit in the Premier League at times last season.
Speaking after the game Bournemouth game, Howe said (via The Chronicle): “Joelinton we have to really protect from injury. He’s just back. Bruno is different, but the two who played [Miley and Willock] today did really well.
“We came here to win, I have to make that clear, and the substitutions we made were evidence of that.
“We had to protect certain players who didn’t play today. That’s the beauty of the squad.
“We showed the strength of our squad. It was a good performance without being a matchwinning one, and we used a lot of different players, which is a good sign.”
Joe Willock and Lewis Miley have to start Newcastle United’s next game
The only way they’re going to build up any match sharpness is with a reasonably consistent run in the team.
Obviously, that’s difficult when there is such a packed schedule and so much competition for places. There’s also Jacob Ramsey’s return from injury to consider, too.
Still, Wednesday’s game against Bradford City as Newcastle begin their Carabao Cup defence offers both Willock and Miley a great chance to build on their Bournemouth outings.
Newcastle will be heavy favourites to win that anyway and some big performances from the duo would be most welcome.
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