Jamie Carragher: Newcastle will be looking over their shoulders
Jamie Carragher believes Newcastle United could spend much of this season looking over their shoulders, with the Sky Sports pundit predicting that we will finish in the bottom half of the Premier League.
Speaking after our Carabao Cup defeat to Everton, Carragher also highlighted why tonight’s league meeting between the sides is arguably more important for Newcastle.
Carragher predicts Newcastle will finish in bottom half
Carragher has delivered a worrying assessment of Newcastle’s prospects this season, pointing towards the number of changes at the club, our younger squad and the departure of several key players.
He believes those factors could make it difficult for us to challenge towards the top end of the table, suggesting we could instead find ourselves looking over our shoulders.
“I think Newcastle will be one of those teams that will be looking over their shoulder for a lot of the season.
"I know where they are in the league right now. I think they’re about eighth or ninth (before weekend’s fixtures), but I think they’re going to be in the bottom half, Newcastle.
“They’ve got a lot of young players, a young manager, a lot of change, a lot of big players going.
"So I think actually the league game on Monday was more important for Newcastle, whereas I think the cup game is more important for Everton.”
It is a pretty damning prediction from Carragher, particularly given the expectations PIF will have set after our recent progress and investment.
Tonight is huge after Everton defeat
There is certainly some truth in Carragher’s suggestion that tonight’s Premier League fixture is more important for Newcastle than the Carabao Cup tie was.
Our 3-1 defeat at Everton on Thursday brought our cup campaign to an end, but the bigger concern was the manner of it all, with us so poor at both ends of the pitch once again.
With Everton returning to St James’ Park just days later, we have an immediate opportunity to respond. Another defeat would only increase the pressure on Matthias Jaissle and make Carragher’s prediction look increasingly uncomfortable.
The summer departures of Bruno Guimarães, Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali have undoubtedly changed the look of our squad, while a new manager is still trying to establish his 4-2-3-1 formation and ‘vertical football’.
However, that cannot become an excuse for many more poor performances. We still have enough quality in the squad to expect far more than what we produced in the second half at Goodison Park.
Carragher may ultimately be proven wrong about Newcastle finishing in the bottom half, but Monday night now feels like a significant test of our response.
A strong performance and three points would go some way towards easing the concerns. Another disappointing display, however, would only give further ammunition to those who fear for our season.
