Newcastle United fans are not over the defeat to Sunderland just yet, and Gary Neville’s damning assessment of that game may get folk fuming once more.
There is very little positive to say about the result and the manner of that defeat to Sunderland. The Newcastle United players barely even turned up at the Stadium of Light, and were made to look foolish by their local rivals.
After losing on Sunday, do you think Newcastle United will finish higher than Sunderland this season?
They weren't particularly great, but they didn't need to be.
Mark Clattenburg said Newcastle were bullied by Sunderland, and he’s not wrong. Indeed, Eddie Howe and his players seemed to have the completely wrong mentality from start to finish.
While many players have been criticised already for that game, there are two who stuck out like a sore thumb for Gary Neville, with their displays leaving the Newcastle system in tatters.
Anthony Gordon and Anthony Elanga left Newcastle short of ideas
In the latest installment of his Sky Sports podcast, Neville picked out both Anthony Gordon and Anthony Elanga, the wingers on the day, as the main scapegoats for the loss at Sunderland.
He said: “To me, the way Newcastle approached the game, it was negative. It was a tactic that if it goes wrong, if you’re a big club and a Champions League team it looks bad, particularly if you’re playing a lesser team with lesser quality and less experience in the Premier League.
“I wanted to see Gordon and Elanga a little bit more in front and the front three with a bit more spring to jump and counter attack.”
Indeed, it was a ridiculous decision to start Elanga in the derby, and Neville went on to say that the Swede’s style of play twinned with Gordon’s anonymous showing, left Nick Woltemade in a troubling situation, too.
He added: “They were the classic four at the back, deep, then they were the classic five, meaning the wide players were pinned back and Woltemade was the isolated centre-forward. I don’t think he’s the type of centre-forward who can play up front on his own. It was a flawed situation from the first five minutes.
“I also thought the two wide players were really poor in their performance, the levels they’re at, Gordon is a very good player, Elanga is a very good player, but both of them were well below the standard.”
Howe seemed to think Newcastle got some things right against Sunderland. However, there’s no way you can argue with Neville’s verdict here, and that’s very worrying indeed in terms of how the manager set his team up.
- READ MORE: Eddie Howe told his ‘legacy’ at Newcastle United is already secure despite Premier League doubts
What was Eddie Howe’s BIGGEST mistake against Sunderland?
I've no idea why we were so deep, or why Elanga started!
Nick Woltemade needs Yoane Wissa
The idea of Woltemade being isolated is something we’ve seen time and time again this season. But thankfully, now, Howe has the solution.
Pairing Woltemade and Wissa is something the Newcastle fans have wanted to see for a while, and the players themselves are keen, too.
For Woltemade, having someone like Wissa up top with him will mean he doesn’t have to press as much or run as much. Given Woltemade is suffering with fatigue, that alone should be a welcome bonus.
The real beauty, though, is that Wissa will make those runs Neville mentioned. He will open up channels of space, be a creative outlet for Woltemade, and add a very interesting and fresh dimension to Newcastle’s attack.
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