3 good, 1 bad from Newcastle’s big win over Brighton

Newcastle United finally arrested their late season slump in form with a crucial 3-1 victory over Brighton on Saturday.

It was a marked improvement in quality and attitude, although I fear there isn’t much future in the starting eleven that featured (Miley and Osula aside/jump straight to point three for more) but with the sun shining down, United did their part and picked up a huge three points.

The goals came via Will Osula, Dan Burn and Harvey Barnes, with Jack Hinselwood netting for the visitors.

Here’s my three good and one bad from the game:

Good: Much improved attitude, quality, and output

Some will argue that it was the bare minimum required (and it is) but there’s no doubt that the starting eleven Howe picked wanted to win that game more than the opposition and it has been a long while since we could say that.

The midfield engine of Bruno, Tonali and Joelinton was back to its swarming, brutal best and in the first half particularly, Brighton struggled to create much (one Pope error aside), and we seemed content to let them have the ball, win it back, and push forward quickly from there.

There was a lot of off the ball running and covering, and it was clear that the managers instructions were being followed, and although his post-match comments about picking players he can trust are worrying, you could see that in the attitude the players showed to going about the task of stopping our horrible slide in form.

Nerves certainly played a part in the second half drop off as we continue to struggle after the half time break, and Brighton missed a host of presentable chances, but football has always required a bit of luck alongside the good aspects of a performance and United ultimately got the job done.

Good: A £30million striker

For a lad who we tried to sell twice in the summer, Will Osula has really started to look like he has developed this season, and he put in by far and away his most complete centre forward performance yet in Black and White.

The one dummy, step over down the right flank, which completely left the Brighton defender for dead was a joy to watch and showed Osula’s football brain, and his movement to just pull off the defender to nod into the open net from Murphy’s cross for the opener showed more of the same.

After starting the season well, he picked up another injury which looked to have set him back, but he more than justified his pick ahead of other contenders on Saturday, and if he can continue to develop, he’s not a bad option to have in the squad, or in this PSR/SCR era, his value will continue to climb.

Bad: The £345m bench and the reversion to relegation threatened tactics

United’s bench yesterday was the stuff of Football Manager dreams with £345million worth of talent in reserve. Some of that talent have a lot of question marks hanging over them, none more so than Wissa, who missed another sitter when he was eventually introduced, but there are arguments to be made that any of the nine lads on the bench could be starting or are certainly better/more technical players the lads who started in their position; especially the lads playing out of position.

But it was clear that there was a reversion to the tactics Howe employed not long after his arrival in October 2021, as all attempts at improving the technical abilities of the starting eleven were cast aside for short term fixes. And it worked, and it would be churlish to denigrate a win, but I just don’t see any long-term future with that eleven.

If we must play like that to pick up some points between now and the end of the season then fine, but there needs to be a serious, microscopic analysis of the squad in the summer. A clear playing philosophy must be established that lets us progress as a side that competes at the upper end of the table regularly, and not a side that bounces between a good season and a bad season.

Some of those lads on the bench will leave this summer but I think we can all agree that a strong Newcastle United side that play high quality football that also wins games regularly probably includes a few of the lads who were in reserve on Saturday.

Good/Bad: Nick Pope

I don’t mind admitting that I was one of the thousands inside SJP yesterday who audibly sighed every time Nick Pope tried to kick a football yesterday, but I was also one of the ones who was celebrating when he pulled off a couple of truly world class saves.

And that is the enigma of Nick Pope, he is simultaneously a wonderful and terrible goalkeeper. His saves yesterday mean we are sitting a little easier, three points in hand (and the one from Kostoulas’ overhead kick was truly spectacular), but his kicking nearly saw Danny Welbeck score from a ricochet that hit the post, and he shanked three or four kicks into touch or barely got enough distance on them to clear the halfway line.

A new goalkeeper is surely high on the list of recruits desired this summer, but Pope did more than played his part in us picking up the win and certainly made the afternoon eventful with his less-than-desirable traits.

Forest next, and with them playing in perhaps the biggest game in their modern history the Thursday before, we must be targeting another improved performance, and hopefully a win at the City Ground.

Keep the faith. HWTL