“I don't pick the team based on transfer fees” - Howe defends Newcastle selection

Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa were spectators for much of the game at Selhurst Park on Sunday as Newcastle United threw away a one-goal lead as Crystal Palace came from behind to win 2-1.

Danish Under 21 international Will Osula started up front for Newcastle as Eddie Howe picked a rather youthful-looking side by the Magpies' standards.

Once again, questions were asked about why neither of his £124 million strike force was given the nod, but those questions died down just before half-time when Will Osula put Newcastle into the lead with a strange goal from a seated position.

With Newcastle failing to create any meaningful chances, the fact that Howe waited so long before introducing Nick Woltemade had many fans baffled, and then confusion reigned supreme when Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa were introduced on 94 minutes when Newcastle were already 2-1 down.

Howe defends team selection

After the game, Eddie Howe was asked in his press conference why he'd left £124 million of talent on the bench once again. Howe defended his selection, though, saying he picks his team based on what he sees in training.

“I don’t pick the team based on transfer fees. I have to pick the team on based on what I see.

“I thought Will Osula has trained well. I think he deserved to start today. I thought he played well, Will. I thought he was again a real positive coming out the game.

“I thought he took his goal well. He’s got the physical attributes, the determination to to do really well. He’s improving, I think, week in week out. So, uh, I was delighted with his performance.”

We don't see what the coaches see

This is often our response when people bemoan the team selection - we don't see what the coaches see every day. A lot of the time, we're going off snapshots of what a player can do during a game, or more often than not, it's personal preference.

Eddie Howe and his coaching staff see how hard each player is working in training, who is buying into the plan and executing it day in and day out.

What we will say to that, though, is that if these current players are the ones who are doing the better job in training, we've got problems.