Former Newcastle striker, Michael Bridges, has identified two reasons why he believes Newcastle are on a run of poor form.
It really does say a lot when we’re talking about a dip in form being a run of games where the team are still picking up points, but the reality is that draws aren’t wins and as a result, we’re losing ground on the top three with Tottenham also creeping towards our current points tally.
Speaking on the GegenPod, Bridges claimed that the big reasons Newcastle are struggling at the moment could be down to the big distraction of an upcoming cup final at Wembley and the missing creativity of Brazilian superstar, Bruno Guimaraes.
“He has been the player of the season”
“There are two big things that have happened: the region is absolutely buzzing because Newcastle are in a League Cup final, taking on Manchester United in a couple of weeks time, so the fans are getting carried away with that and the players might have taken their sight off the game a little bit.” said Bridges.
“But there’s been one massive influence and one change. There was a guy who got red-carded in the League Cup – that was Bruno Guimaraes. He has been the player of the season because everything Newcastle do in the build-up play goes through this guy.
“In the final third, he unlocks doors with his passes, his vision, his goals and Newcastle have really really missed him. I think the thing for Newcastle that they’re really happy about is he served the suspension in the league games and he’s going to be available for the League Cup.
“Again, they’ve gone unbeaten. I think Eddie Howe was relieved they didn’t get beat when he returned to his old club Bournemouth but they got themselves out of trouble.
“I can see them going out against Liverpool and having a show of it, but I think Liverpool will do them, but I’m going to take Newcastle in the League Cup because Bruno will be back.”
Not a one-man team
It’s hard to argue with his thinking, here (prediction for the Liverpool game aside). It has definitely felt like the Carabao Cup has been a distraction, but that’s certainly not a bad thing. We are much higher in the league than anyone realistically expected us to be at this point, so why shouldn’t we take our eyes off the league for a spell when there’s a chance of silverware?
With regards to Bruno Guimaraes, it’s hard to quantify just how important he is to Newcastle and how central he has been to our recent fortunes. However, as Callum Wilson said, we’re not a one-man team, so while his absence will have been an influence, it’s unfair to single him out.
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