As we enter the November international break, our series of 2015-16 team progress reports begins with an examination of Newcastle United’s season so far.
What hass gone right?
After a shaky start to the season, the last four matches have showed enough to give Magpies fans hope that they will not be fighting it out at the wrong end of the table. seven points from a possible 12 have lifted Steve McClaren’s side out of the bottom three. What has coincided with this improvement in form is the formation of a strike force between Aleksandr Mitrovic and Ayoze Perez. With the partnership being your typical big man/little man duo and with both aged in their early 20s with plenty of potential, it seems the Geordies can have a bright future this season and beyond if these two are well looked afte (and more importantly not sold). It was after a cheeky back heel from Mitrovic that Perez was able to score in the most recent match away to Bournemouth, where Newcastle claimed a vitally important win, which allowed them to leapfrog the Cherries on the table.
What has gone wrong?
When you are sitting 17th on the table, it is hard to isolate only one aspect that has gone wrong. The most prominent factor that has hindered the Toon in the early stages of this season has been their trouble to convert a good performance into three points. Newcastle have been unlucky in home matches against Southampton, Chelsea and Stoke City where they only managed to claim a point on each occasion. Other instances where a good performance has gone unrewarded was losses against Arsenal and Sunderland, when they had controversial sending-offs on both occasions. Newcastle have 10 points to their name, but if they had of at least drawn against Arsenal and Sunderland, as well as won those three mentioned home games, they would have 18 points and be sitting in the top-half of the table. While a good performance offers cause for encouragement, this is a results based industry and it is high time the Geordies converted no points into one, and one point into three.
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Best player so far – Georginio Wijnaldum
The performances from Dutch international Georginio Wijnaldum have been very encouraging from a Newcastle perspective. Six goals in 12 outings from a midfielder is very impressive, especially considering the attacking midfielder has been forced to play on the left to accommodate the club’s lack of wingers. A debut goal against Southampton and a strike against Chelsea gave fans a glimpse of what the highly talented midfielder is capable of, but undoubtedly the pick of his performances came in the Magpies first win of the season, when he scored four goals as Newcastle recorded an emphatic 6-2 win over Norwich City. While Wijnaldum has shown his quality, it seems as though he will not reach his full potential unless he is played in his more accustomed position as a box-to-box midfielder. Whether or not Newcastle rise up the table could very well depend on the form of Wijnaldum.
What is next?
The Magpies’ last two matches (Stoke and home and Bournemouth away) have been chalk and cheese. Against Stoke, they dominated proceedings and were very unlucky to get a draw. On the other end of the spectrum, against Bournemouth they were completely outplayed but still won, when in truth they probably deserved to lose. Their inconsistency means a fascinating next few weeks await. Their fixture list is daunting to say the least. A home match against high-flying Leicester is followed by a reunion with former manager Alan Pardew at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace. Newcastle then have the visit of Liverpool before traveling to the capital to face Tottenham. Both of which are tricky fixtures on paper. but Magpies fans will take comfort in knowing that they won both those ties last season. If Newcastle are on the back foot in all those matches as expected, the form of stand-in gloveman Rob Elliot. who was superb against Bournemouth, will be crucial for the Toon.
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