Eddie Howe sent reminder about who exactly should replace Joelinton for Newcastle United

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Newcastle United got it all wrong against Manchester City on Saturday.

Indeed, Newcastle United now sit seventh in the Premier League after yet another miserable day at the Etihad Stadium.

Despite all of their problems this season, City smashed Newcastle 4-0 on a day where Eddie Howe’s side looked like little more than a Championship outfit.

Club legend Alan Shearer slammed Newcastle as “pathetic”, which is perhaps actually a generous way of describing what happened. Play like that until the Carabao Cup final next month and Newcastle’s League campaign will be over.

The Newcastle United manager surely cannot legislate for some of the performances of his players but there are things he got wrong on Saturday. Namely, in midfield.

• READ MORE: Who is Joelinton? Age, Height, Chant, Position, Socials and More

Eddie Howe sent reminder about who should replace Joelinton for Newcastle United

Howe claimed Newcastle missed Joelinton against City, such was their lack of physicality.

Now, replacing the Brazilian is by no means an easy thing to do but it’s fair to say Joe Willock did not get even close to managing it in the anonymous 45 minutes he played.

In fact, Howe confirmed Willock’s half-time substitution was tactical rather than down to injury, underlining what a poor game the midfielder had.

His replacement in Lewis Miley at least did something. Howe was full of praise for Miley following his half of football against City and it would be foolish not to start him against Nottingham Forest next time out.

Lewis Miley vs Joe Willock stats during Man City vs Newcastle

Willock wasn’t the only player to have struggled for Howe’s side against City. Lewis Hall was criticised by pundit Chris Sutton, while Kieran Trippier was blasted by Newcastle fans.

Still, Miley looks an obvious upgrade given Joelinton is expected to miss a few weeks of action.

The teenager beat Willock for shots on target (Newcastle’s only of the game) and pass competition rate while producing the same number of tackles. There’s not a huge amount in it but Miley had to come in during difficult circumstances and was worthy of his praise.

Replacing Joelinton is not easy but Miley at least deserves his chance after a poor outing from Willock.