Peter Crouch is blown away by what Newcastle United are doing this season, and not in a good way.
It has been a tough start to the season for Eddie Howe and his side. They have only won one game so far, while they also suffered stoppage time heartache against Liverpool and Arsenal.
Gary Neville has seen enough to believe Newcastle will have a good season, but Peter Crouch has a problem with one thing the Magpies are doing.
On multiple occasions this season, Newcastle have deployed a new kick-off routine. Sandro Tonali has leathered the ball towards the corner flag and out for a throw-in, with the idea being to immediately put their opponents under pressure and retrieve possession high up the pitch.
Some Newcastle players do not like it, and it has certainly irked Crouch.
Peter Crouch hates Newcastle United’s new kick-off routine
Speaking on the latest episode of That Peter Crouch podcast, the former Premier League striker has given his verdict on Newcastle United’s new kick-off routine.
It is fair to say that Crouch does not like it, with the ex-Liverpool ace questioning why teams are not just keeping the ball like they normally would in a game.
“It’s everywhere, everyone’s doing it,” he said.
“Newcastle are doing it. But in any other period of the match, any other minute, any other second, if the ball is rolled back to you, you just keep it.
“Why are we booting it out of play? I just do not get it. You’re not going to concede, that’s one thing.
“We’ve got keepers doing Cruyff turns in their own box, but from kick-off you have to boot it.”
Who inspired Eddie Howe to deploy new tactic
It initially looked like Newcastle were copying Paris Saint-Germain when Tonali was tasked with booting the ball out for a throw-in on the opening day of the new Premier League season. It is a tactic that PSG used in the Champions League final, which they won handsomely against Bayern Munich.
If it is good enough for the European champions, it is good enough for Newcastle United. However, it was not PSG who inspired Howe to try something new from kick-off.
According to the Athletic, it was Atletico Madrid’s trip to St James’ Park in pre-season that convinced Howe to utilise a new kick-off tactic.
Diego Simeone’s side did something similar against Newcastle, which completely caught Howe off guard. The Newcastle United manager appreciated the logic behind it, and has since been getting his Toon players to do the same.
They even did it against Barcelona in the Champions League, a side who passed the Magpies to death on that night at St James’ Park.
There is method to Howe’s madness, but Crouch does make a good point about teams keeping the ball at any other point in the match. In that respect, why should kick-off be any different?
It is certainly creative, and it will be interesting to see how long Howe persists with it.
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