Newcastle United secured a hard-earned three points against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
By no means was it an easy win, however, Newcastle United had to come from behind and fight off a late comeback effort from the Midlands side to get the win.
While the game was one thing, there were bittersweet moments for Newcastle fans who saw three former Toon stars take to the pitch for Forest. Chris Wood scored a hat-trick last season but was kept quiet, despite Newcastle’s leaky defence.
It was not a happy return for Matz Sels who looked shaky throughout the game, making mistakes and overdoing a lot of the easy work. Sels could’ve ruined the party for Newcastle, the club he flopped at almost nine years ago but it was nowhere near the case.
Newcastle midfielder Lewis Miley was praised by Pat Nevin for his sensational performance in the win. Miley marked his first Premier League start in a year with a goal that got the Magpies back into the game. Post-match, Miley congratulated Alexander Isak for scoring his 50th league goal, he admitted that he couldn’t believe he gets to play with someone of his quality.
While Newcastle look to take the momentum from the win into their next game, fans believe that another former Toon star was lucky to get away with an incident that VAR seemed to miss.
- READ MORE – Alan Shearer pinpoints what Newcastle did which Nottingham Forest ‘couldn’t live with’ in 4-3 win
Elliot Anderson caught slapping Jacob Murphy in Newcastle loss
Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson made his return to St James’ Park for the first time since leaving the club last summer. The 22-year-old received a warm reception throughout the game and was applauded after being taken off. Newcastle fans chanted for Anderson towards the end of the game, a gesture the Whitley Bay-born star dearly appreciated.
However, there was a moment during the game that was seemingly missed by VAR which could have had huge implications on the result of the game.
Just a few minutes into the clash, Anderson was spotted slapping Jacob Murphy off the ball. Anderson immediately apologised by Murphy clearly felt the effects of the blow, giving the ball away shortly after for Forest’s first goal.
Newcastle fans took to X to react to the moment.
“Murphy should have went down, if he did it would have forced the ref and Var to take a look a it It was a clear slap so Anderson would have been off i reckon Telling that about a min later Murphy lost the ball for the 1st goal, he’s helped his mate there and it cost him.” said one fan, while another added: “I thought Anderson was incredibly lucky—he looked like he forgot he was in a match and was just play-fighting with a mate. Really bizarre behaviour, and if PGMOL was doing its job, that would’ve been a straight red.”
This fan also referred to training ground antics, saying: “Suspecting they did this at training all the time.”
“If Murphy went down holding his eye they would have had a proper look at that.” said this Newcastle fan.
“I love him and hope he does well but there’s definitely a jealousy thing about him not being here anymore, he tried to go through Miley quite a few times.” added another fan.
Finally, this fan said: “Anderson tried way too hard that match, was lucky not to have been caught a couple of times. The occasion got to him.”
Elliot Anderson’s hard Newcastle exit
PSR forced Anderson to leave alongside Yankuba Minteh, a player Newcastle fans never got to see play for them. It’s difficult for Newcastle fans to see Anderson performing so well at another club – had PSR not existed there is a big chance that he would still be a Newcastle player.
Anderson didn’t want to leave Newcastle but understood it was something he had to do for the sake of the club. The feeling was mutual for Eddie Howe who was ‘reluctant’ to let Anderson leave.
- READ MORE – Eddie Howe’s ‘it will happen again’ warning as Newcastle prepare for Elliot Anderson reunion
The midfielder was sold for £35m, becoming Newcastle’s record sale in the process. There’s a big chance Newcastle could’ve bagged a higher fee for him in the future given how much game time he would’ve been exposed to this season.
Newcastle must now ensure that they do not have to repeat the same feat with other players in the future. Young stars like Lewis Miley must be protected at all costs.
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