A key Newcastle United player has come under fire after a few individual mistakes which have cost the team this season.
Kieran Trippier is one of Newcastle’s most important players both on and off the pitch but it’s fair to say that he’s not enjoyed the most successful campaign so far on a person level.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Phil Thompson claimed he’s a huge fan of Trippier’s commitment and energy, but admitted that his performances have ‘fallen off a cliff’ this season.
Newcastle star has had a bit of a wobble this year
Trippier’s performances this season have sort of been reflective of Newcastle’ campaign as a whole having been very frustrated around December and January when their form took a turn for the worst.
The experienced defender made his first huge mistake in the game against Everton when Newcastle lost 3-0 in shocking fashion before doing something similar in the 4-1 defeat against Tottenham a few days later.
Newcastle then travelled to Chelsea for the Carabao Cup quarter final and had been leading until the 90th minute when Trippier headed the ball onto the path of Mykhailo Mudryk in the box to level things up and would ultimately lose on penalties.
It was a very difficult period for the England international who has been so brilliant for Newcastle in the last couple of years, so it was a massive blow for the whole squad to see a leader like him struggling.
On Trippier, Thompson said: “Trippier is one where you look at the failings of all the players because to me I’ve always thought what a player.
“His energy levels, his commitment has been incredible each game, and then all of a sudden he’s fallen off a cliff, his performances and mistakes have started to cost.
“Yes, you can make one or something like that but his were continuous. Your mind is not right, your energy levels drop.”
Trippier has started to turn things around
Up until he sustained his injury against Wolves, Trippier had actually been performing on a more consistent basis in the new year and was proving to be key to Newcastle going forwards and defensively once again.
The right-back has racked up 10 assists so far in the Premier League, so he can’t be playing that terribly, and will be aiming for even more come the end of the season.
He did have that transfer debacle with Bayern Munich in January, but the 33-year-old declared his desire to stay in the North East and shared how happy his family were living on Tyneside at the moment.
It’s hoped that Trippier will return to the team after the international break for the huge game against West Ham, and he himself will be hoping to have a strong end to the season both for the club and on a personal level to prove his doubters wrong.
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