Steve Harmison appeared on talkSPORT today, talking about Newcastle’s front three, and his comments on them, and their shortcomings, summed them up perfectly in a nutshell.
With only one goal all season from the three attackers, it is clear that things have not gone according to plan for Steve Bruce, and although he is showing incredible loyalty to them, and their ability, he may soon have to change things.
We wrote how Bruce’s faith in them – should their failings in the goals column continue – could well end up costing him his role, especially if the club end up in the bottom three.
But former cricketer and Newcastle fan, Harmison, was bang on in his appraisal of the trio.
Speaking of the forwards, he said: “They can look explosive at times, but they just get to 20-25 yards out, and you just know that nothing’s going to happen.
“I don’t want to criticise the centre forwards – the stats tell you they’re not doing it. The one thing I will say about these three, I’ve seen players come and play for Newcastle United, have indifferent times, and just completely fob it off. These three put shifts in.
“They work hard for that black and white shirt, so I am not going to be ridiculously critical and kick them in the teeth and say they’re not good enough.
“At the end of the day, they work their nuts off for the shirt. Unfortunately, the end production is not up to the standard of what it need to be in the Premier League.”
It is hard to argue with Harmison’s assessment
He is dead right. They do look explosive at times. They do work hard, and do not hide. And they are lacking in an end product.
With Allan Saint-Maximin, there are clear signs a goal is imminent, and he will find the net sooner rather than later.
With Joelinton, his work is all being done with his back to goal, or without any support from a teammate, so there is sympathy there too.
It is a slightly different situation for Almiron, with him clearly down in confidence, and as we have called for many times before, the best thing for the Paraguayan, is a spell on the bench, where he comes on in a second half, fresh as a daisy, running at tiring defenders.
It is his best chance of getting a goal, and the best chance for Steve Bruce to get him up to the levels he believes he is capable of.
It may all change with a lucky bounce or two, in and around the box, but Bruce cannot afford to be too patient with them. He needs to find goals, and his defenders are not going to score them for him every week.
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