Newcastle whimpered to a 2-0 defeat at Aston Villa last night, and can have few complaints after they were outplayed for virtually the whole 90 minutes, while hardly testing their goalkeeper.
There were doubts over the fitness of Villa keeper Tom Heaton, in the build up to the game, but with Newcastle’s forwards yet again struggling so badly, he could have played with a broken leg and still not had a thing to do.
I do feel for Joelinton, as I have done all season, with him forever alone up front, and at times yesterday he did not have a teammate withing 30 yards of him, such was the woeful support he is getting.
While Allan Saint-Maximin tried everything in his box of tricks to salvage something, it was one of those frustrating nights – that you will get with him – where nothing came off, and it was summed up with his fancy turn he tried on the wing, just to see the ball go into touch.
But on the other flank, Miguel Almiron was – for the want of a better word – pathetic. He ran, and ran, and ran. Largely irrelevant, however, if you do not do anything with the ball.
Having had a couple of superb games against West Ham and Bournemouth, it genuinely seemed like he had turned the corner, but last night he was pitiful – although, he was far from the only one.
His night was encapsulated in a second half moment when he burst forward on the right wing, beyond the ball, and while he had the whole defensive line to look across, just kept his head down, and ran past everyone, only to be blown offside. It was criminal.
It is getting difficult to keep excusing Almiron’s form
I have backed him all season, and said he just needs a goal. I have also said his best impact, and chance to get his goal, would be from the bench against tiring legs in a second half, taking him out of the firing line, and giving him a break so he can rediscover himself.
There can be no more excuses for the Paraguayan. He simply must be dropped from the starting lineup, for his own sake, as well as the team’s.
Newcastle fans were similarly angry and exasperated with his performance, and those feelings were evident in their reactions on Twitter.
Here are some of their comments on Almiron’s shocking display:
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