Newcastle United are a Champions League side without injuries
Newcastle United turned back the months with that massive win at Aston Villa and they have forced a change from Jurgen Klopp in the Mailbox.
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Newcastle are a Champions League side until they get tired
After a pretty painful winter, Newcastle showed again that when they have half a chance they can actually play football.
On 2nd December Newcastle beat Man United, were 5th in the table, in the Carabao quarter-finals, and one win from the Champions League knockouts. They then lost 8 of 10 matches in the space of 31 days to be knocked out of two competitions and fall to tenth.
That gruelling winter run included conceding late over and over again:
– 3 goals to lose in the last 15 minutes at Everton
– 2 goals in the last 35 minutes at Milan to lose and go out of the CL
– a 92nd minute equaliser to Chelsea to go out of the Carabao
– 3 goals to lose in the last 20 minutes at Liverpool
– 2 goals to lose from ahead in the last 20 minutes at City
In fact – using F365’s lovely tables – based on the first 75 minutes of each match, Newcastle are 4th! Above Villa and Spurs.
The conclusion isn’t particularly surprising. Newcastle rely on a strong high press and quick transitions. But thanks to prior underinvestment then FFP, the squad is too thin, has too many injuries, and so when they’re too tired at the end of matches the press can collapse. With no fit senior substitutes for most of December, that happened almost every game – as tiredness compounded injuries, and injuries compounded the tiredness of the remaining players.
Now, Newcastle have a game a week, a brief winter break, have rested some players and brought a couple back, and had the fitness and defensive cohesion to hold off an excellent Villa team away.
Against Villa, at a moment they were starting to look dangerous again at 1-3, Howe also made a late tactical tweak to bring on Tino and go to 5 at the back, bringing a bunch of defensive pace and solidity, and closing out from there with relative ease. It’s the first time one of his defensive subs has changed the game in ages – partly because he hasn’t been able to make any for so long. Rested Anthony Gordon looked mint again.
Newcastle did great for top 4 last year, but the squad was always a mix of some potential superstars, seasoned pros, and quite a few players who for all their hard work have spent most of their careers in the lower Prem or Championship. Not very surprisingly, when Howe hadn’t been able to use his press due to injuries and fatigue and could only use half the squad, the team started to look pretty mid table. But a few games now are showing the quality is still there.
After a tough tough season, the field now looks open again to get back into Europe, plausibly the Europa. Three points behind a West Ham surprise package in sixth, and having already played City, Liverpool and Villa twice there’s no reason a refreshed squad can’t go on a bit of a run. There’s also a winnable FA Cup tie against Blackburn in a decent chance of a domestic cup.
Hopefully that will stop the José trolling for a few weeks…
Roger, (well done Fabian), Newcastle in London
…I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the Aston Villa game. One on hand we had beaten them at home comprehensively with a well executed plan, but on the other hand we had Sir Fergie saying Aston Villa are better than us, the form and league tables saying the same, a long running injury crisis (you may not have heard about it, but its been rather annoying), Tonali, the hero of the first game suspended, our away record and Aston Villa’s home form.
Despite all this I was feeling sort of optimistic. We were really pretty awful in the first half of the Fulham FA Cup game, but still got the result and definitely grew in confidence as the game went on to the point where I had no concerns about conceding a late goal to make it nervy. I know it was ‘only’ Fulham, but they were great against Liverpool in midweek. Anyway it gave me a spark of hope.
With all that in mind I was quite dazzled by the performance. The game plan was clear and was executed very well by everyone on the pitch, Gordon and Miley in particular worked so effectively as a pair giving the Villa defenders a lot to think about. The high line was there to be exploited and we probed at it throughout the game. Of course we only scored once doing that, but the volume of set pieces (which we scored from twice) showed how often we were in and around their goal. And when Villa inevitably got a foothold in the game we defended well and Howe made the right substitution to nullify the threat of Bailey and get us back in control.
This was definitely a result to bring back a bit of relief and, aside from Arsenal, the next few fixtures are winnable enough to properly allow normal service to be resumed in the hunt for some sort of European qualification. Hopefully CL qualified teams (or us of course) win the cups to make that more achievable.
A particular mention must go to Schar, the best thing to come out of Switzerland since the cheese, and Jacob Murphy, a pretty unremarkable footballer who gives everything on the pitch all the time, and is probably very annoying for the opposition. It’s the Jacob Murphys of this squad who are allowing this team to compete at a reasonably high level while we wait for the improved commercial deals to come and allow us to beef up the squad and fill the bench up with people over 18 and under 35.
Onwards and upwards?
Derek from Dundalk
…This Klopp business is doing my head in. On the one hand, I cannot even contain the sneer on my face every time a Liverpool supporter purrs anything that sounds like This Means More ™. No, it doesn’t, you potatoes. Football’s a game, and your team’s success is exactly as valuable as any other team’s. Liverpool supporters – especially the late adopters – can really grind my gears, and that’s a Me thing. On the other hand, anybody that dismisses Jurgen Klopp’s brilliance as a manager needs to take a searching and fearless moral inventory.
Klopp’s bright veneered smile, avuncular presence, gentle and decent politics, and emotional nature would make him an ideal representative for any club and its supporters. With smart talent identification and a bit of good fortune in the transfer market, he transformed a deeply wobbly Liverpool side with a new formation and swashbuckling tactics (that I believe Howe is trying to emulate) that have won Liverpool basically every trophy on offer at least once during his tenure despite tough competition. He defends his players ferociously, and is willing and able to coach a player into a new position to make the team better. And he seems to feed on the Anfield crowd.
And perhaps most importantly, he’s a sh*tty loser; that might be the one trait that all the greats share. Klopp is brilliant, end of. I love Eddie Howe like he’s my uncle, but I would make heathen sacrifice to allow us to gently sack him or retire him to a Director of Player Development position and hire 2015 Jurgen Klopp as manager.
But speaking of Howe, I’m so pleased for him and the club’s double over Villa, and for the away supporters who were far louder than the home fans through 90% of that match. It was an enormous and frankly unexpected win for us, and beating Villa is so much sweeter since that Sob on the Tyne banner was raised. And as any decent human would agree, it’s pretty nice watching that jackass Emi Martinez flail helplessly about.
A deserved win, but a slightly flattering scoreline. Both teams could have scored more. Also, Leon Bailey is a heck of a player. His 90th minute turning of Tino Livramento was [chef’s kiss GIF].
According to Newcastle lore, Fabien Schar cost the club 2.5 million quid; according to Transfermarkt, it was 4 million in the end. Either way, I can’t recall a bigger bargain. He and Botman are hardly impenetrable, but they showed a last-season calm in this match. The entire defence benefited, and our calm in changes of possession looked as good as it has since October or November.
Almiron showed why I love him so much. I honestly thought he was off after missing Fulham. I was also pleased for Jacob Murphy, who’s just the kind of tryer to succeed under Howe. And for Lewis Miley, who put in the most aggressive performance I’ve seen from him thus far. Anthony Gordon is astonishingly tough for such a lanky kid. He runs for 90 minutes every match despite drawing (and committing) a ton of fouls. Bruno was far smarter and more effective than he was against Fulham in the FA Cup and matched up well with the also excellent McGinn. In conclusion: howay!
Chris C, Toon Army DC
Marcus Rashford out of Manchester United please
I don’t find myself writing into F365 very often, partly because there is another Lee who steals my thunder.
But please, please F365 can you stop filling 90% of your mail box with Clop crap?
We all know how it will play out: Clop leaves at the end of the season, Germany crash and burn at the Euros, Nagelsmann leaves, et voila (or whatever the German equivalent is) Clop is named national coach. Everyone is happy, apart from Liverpool fans, obviously, who will cry betrayal.
Anyway, the purpose of my writing is to discuss Rashford.
Assuming the people in charge at OT read this, which I’m sure they do, please get rid.
The guy is disrespecting the manager, disrespecting his team mates, disrespecting the club and now disrespecting the fans with his behaviour.
That’s a lot of disrespect.
I don’t care if this a “local lad come good” – we all know that this behaviour wouldn’t be tolerated in the real world but this is football where players are multi million ££ assets who can’t simply be sacked.
And it’s all too easy to point the finger at Ten Hag. He has inherited a toxic culture.
I’m surprised how little is mentioned of the ‘inner circle’ Rashford surrounds himself with. The manager can only do so much, players also need a strong advisors and experienced agents.
So are we surprised the way things are going when Rashford’s agent is his brother? Look him up, especially his exploits in Miami, and imagine the type of professional advice he is giving.
I find myself asking if this is this a pattern amongst other players we have seen. Could this be a side-effect of the money-first culture that has prevailed at the club?
We’ve recently read half stories about Kees Vos (Ten Hag’s agent) approaching academy players – with a narrative that portrays him something like the Child Catcher from chitty chitty bang bang.
But what if this is one area that has been identified for improvement – ensuring youth players are actually signing up to professional agencies and not just paying family members and signing on to a path to self-destruction?
It’s clear that the culture at Utd has been broken for years with money prioritised over performance and there is something clearly wrong with the culture amongst players that predate the arrival of Ten Hag.
Who in the youth set up was advising these players on their career choices?
Is lining the pockets of unqualified family members part of the problem?
Of course the truth is we don’t know, but it is food for thought.
LeE
READ: Marcus Rashford and Man Utd might both be happier without each other
It’s Liverpool: This means more
All the sh*t poured on by other club fans saying Klopp was an under-achiever might hit the ceiling fan if Klopp wins a treble this season.
And yeah, John Nic was wrong to have judged Klopp so poorly.
He was more than a manager.
And yes, this. means more to us.
Tejas (LFC for the Treble)
It’s not all about the trophies anyway
There’s a famous quote from Batman which is along the lines of “You either leave a hero, or hang around long enough to become the villain.”. That pretty much sums up how football managers leave football clubs. I thought we had a couple more good years out of Klopp but we don’t. He is going to leave a hero. And some people seem to be upset by this. They seem desperate to piss on our chips and tell us the chips were shit anyway.
I expected better from John Nicholson (hope you are on the mend sir), who I always associated with being in the joy first, trophies second camp. I thought he’d get, and he probably does really. I’m sure one of his why we love articles is in the pipeline for Jurgen Norbert Klopp.
Jurgen is a great manager. In the Premier League era the top clubs’ greatest managers are clear: United and Fergie, City and Pep, Chelsea and Jose, Arsenal and Wenger, Liverpool and Klopp.
Jose and Wenger never won the Champions League for those clubs. Every club in the league would take Jurgen as their manager next season, including Liverpool.
Would I have liked it if he had won the league with 97 points? Sure, but I would have liked to have won it with 75 points like Fergie in 97. Is every team who gets more than 75 points without winning the league a failure… sorry… FAILURE! Course not. Who knows what the record books will show once these 115 charges get sorted out. Is it the record books that determine whether a manager was good or great, or is it the fans, the stories, the songs, the moments?
Much like with music, I don’t know the band, it’s probably the same crew in the venue as the gig before, and the music may not be everyone’s cup of tea. A great band isn’t judged but how many Brit award they won or streams or how many stadiums they sell out. Led Zeppellin had fewer number ones that Mr Blobby FFS. Its about how the music affects you and your life.
Football is the same. The greats make the people happy. Make heroes. Make lasting memories that will be passed on. Klopp did that, and won the big boy trophies along the way.
Alex, South London
…As is always the case, Utd fans pile in on Klopp’s trophy count as a way to talk him down and include no context.
Good old Badwolf, epitomises the “if you want to know what’s going on at Liverpool ask a Utd fan.”
Utd fans find the Klopp talk boring?
You bleat on about a manager who left 11 years ago and waffle on about a Highbury tunnel incident from 19 years ago.
Klopp took over Liverpool 6 months after Liverpool lost 6-1 at Stoke.
He took over a squad including Mignolet, Clyne, Sakho, Skrtel, Lucas, Benteke, Ibe, Bogdan, Joe Allen etc.
In his first few weeks they beat then current champions Chelsea 3-1 away AND beat City 4-1 away.
His first full season he achieved top 4.
His second full season he got to a CL final.
His 3rd full season he won the CL and accumulated 97 points.
His 4th full season he won the PL accumulating 99 points.
His 6th full season he took the chance of winning the quadruple further than anyone else and won 6/6 group games(only PL manager to do this).
Badwolf says he got to the final of the 2022 CL without any tough fixtures but it’s hardly his fault Benfica knocked out Ajax and Villareal knocked out Munich.
Utd spent £400m in 18 months and finished bottom of a group including Copenhagen, Galatasary and Munich.
Liverpool have lost 1 PL game in front of fans since 2017.
They went unbeaten at home in the PL the 2 seasons they finished second… and were screwed by VAR decisions that cost them points. The Rodri handball in 2022, Kane not being sent off, Kompany not being sent off in 21/22 but Robertson sent off.
Don’t forget they were massively outspent by other clubs, most of whom didn’t come close to winning a CL. They also played front foot, swashbuckling, attacking football.
He beat Utd 5-0 after Ole had spent £400m in 2 seasons. Klopp spent that in 4 and won it all.
The treble season Utd drew 3 of their last 7 games and still won the league.
Liverpool took 51/57 points their last 19 games and still didn’t win the league.
They lost 4PL games out of 84 and won 1 PL title. That is insane.
Klopp won the PL against a team who broke FFP 115 times and he won the CL and the CWC before that same team.
The guy is the greatest. End of.
When Pep beats a team with 230 FFP charges hanging over them to the league by 18 points AND wins the CL and the CWC before that team we can compare them.
Until then🤫
Gussy, Ireland
…Since Liverpool came within a couple goals of attaining footballing perfection, it has suddenly become normal to talk about ‘The Quadruple’, as if it’s in any way a reasonable goal for a team to aim for, or be expected to achieve.
Man City took years of perfect management, coaching, excellent recruitment, and only then did they manage to equal the mythical ‘Treble’ winners. And yes, it’s true that Man City, despite exiting smaller competitions earlier than necessary, are actually within the realm of being good enough to win the Quad, but no one else is anywhere near close enough for it to be a remotely reasonable topic of conversation. And yet you see it mentioned everywhere!
Klopp’s farewell tour of course has kicked the narrative machine into overdrive, but even so, surely no reasonable person expects LFC to come even close to (what would then be called the Plastic) Quadruple?! Luckily for my nerves, we’ll drop points to Chelsea and Arsenal without Salah, City will then be in the driver’s seat, and that will be that.
On another note, I think it’s perfectly fair to look at Klopp’s tenure and say that to reach so many finals, to get so close to winning the league more than just once, surely that can be painted as falling short when it mattered most, that to build a team that good that came up just short so often, is both great, but also…not as great as when you win the damn thing in the end. If someone were to offer to bring in Mourinho for a couple of those finals, would I have said no? Probably not…
But as a fan, it really isn’t just about winning. I watched the first Madrid final at 4 am in a hotel in the middle of nowhere in Japan, and it bloody hurt. But the trip to the final, brilliant football….the tension of watching Liverpool pull out win after win to close in on City, and end up just ever so short of glory…unforgettable seasons, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything else.
Do I wish we’d been a tiny bit more street smart in those closing stretches, in those finals, yes, I do. But would that have been possible from the same team and manager that brought so much brilliant football? Most likely not. So while rival fans can laugh about how the almost-worlds-best-team managed to come brutally short of immortality, they can enjoy their laughter. We don’t care, we got to watch a brilliant team for 8 years, and we’ll never forget it.
Henry, LFC
READ: Liverpool are the Goldilocks club; Klopp has brought exactly the right amount of success
…Being a MUFC fan, I was delighted to hear that Klopp will be leaving at the end of the season. Perhaps the humiliation we experienced every time we played Liverpool will finally diminish. On the other hand, I must confess I actually quite liked the guy. Sure he was a bad loser but, as the saying goes, “show me good loser and I’ll show you a loser.” By all accounts, people I know who have met him all say that in person, he is a nice fella. I don’t think anyone could imagine SAF drinking beers with fans!
The unresolved question is, could he considered successful, or successful … enough? Personally I think it is a little unfair to use trophies as the only benchmark. It hurts me to say it but for a few years now, Liverpool have been by far the most exciting team to watch, way more than City, who are stultifying.
Trophies are for the record books, but as a fan, every week, for many a year, you were entertained. Rescuing victory from the jaws of defeat, last minute winners, spectacular goals. In the shadow of the Vogons, winning more trophies was simply not a realistic benchmark. A similar accusation has been aimed at SAF that he didn’t win enough European Cups. But with Barcelona, and Messi in particular at their peak, it was just not going to happen, was it?
I think he should be judged on his total contribution. He helped turn around the ship, got everyone, players, club and fans, all pulling in the right direction, and will be leaving the club in a healthy position, both financially and from a playing perspective. With that criteria, I rate him one of the top five Premier League managers, as much as I hate to say it!
Adidasmufc (Klopp to Barcelona and Xavi to Liverpool next season?)
Even Calvino making sense
I was just wondering if everything was ok with regular contributor, Man Utd fan and general lunacy peddler Calvino.
I tend to avoid his long emails due to the madness – but last 2 mailboxes he has been considered and sensible and looked at both sides of the argument.
Praising clop (as I understand we now call him) and denigrating Mr Utd and all round good Samaritan (but desperately over rated footballer) M. Rashford.
Just checking that everything is ok in Calvino’s world – Or has he started regular DMT sessions and has seen the light of reasonable discussion?
Was nice to read and a harp back to the days when the mailbox wasn’t just another social media representation of bile filled hatred and pointless point scoring. When we could actually discuss the pro and cons of things without people losing their minds and being ‘triggered’ (I hate that too.. Yes I am over 50).
Calvino, Sir, It was nice to see and read, Thank you for your sensible input. Best of luck to you – but obvs not your team.. that would be a step to far.
Al – LFC (weekly enemies can be friends in between times right?)