I think that it is easy to get panicky when we lose 4 on the bounce, especially when Sunderland are in second having beaten a blunt Chelsea. Liverpool have also lost 4 on the run but are they saying time for Slot to go? Bassey killed the hard work of the whole team with two terrible errors of judgement. At this level you must be error free as a basic, table stakes, that has usually been the difference with the newly promoted teams. We have a ton of injuries as ZZ pointed out, the knock of them is that the key players get tired - Iwobi and Sess were knackered at the end. I thought for once Marco missed a trick with not going to a 5 last 10 mins especially with Cuenca on the bench. I agree the TC and King changes didn’t work. We will beat Wycombe and Wolves. Players will return and we will climb the table so stop the nonsense about getting rid of Marco, some people either have very short memories or have a sense of entitlement that a club of our revenues cannot have in the times of PSR. UTF!
Ironically I think some fans are calling for Slot to go at Liverpool! Not the sensible ones though.
I agree that things are a bit hectic at the minute - it's been a while since our early season form has been this poor, we're used to having flying starts under Silva and it's ugly seeing us in 16th. The injuries, fatigue, and loss of form to key players like Bassey is clearly having an impact, and it will be a case of trying to push through.
Like you, I share optimism about the next two fixtures - it's important not to discount teams like Wycombe, who have the potential to be a pain and certainly can't be allowed to sneak a lead in front of their own fans through our complacency, but there's surely enough quality to beat a League 1 side even with our injuries. Wolves feels very important - depending on how their game against Burnley goes there's a chance teams will overtake us if we lose that one, and then we really will be in the relegation mix. I think a few of the injuries will have cleared by then, but we can only hope...
As much as I didn’t really want to read this after the result, thank you Owen, as ever such an insightful piece. On the rare occasions I miss a game I feel reconnected with your excellent analysis.
Certainly disappointing to lose again and the first goal in my view is firmly Bassey’s fault, no excuse for that at this level.
However, the two matches this coming week are far more important and will define our season more than playing away against a European team. COYW.
Harsh on Bassey in my opinion. While the mistakes are clear, mistakes happen when you’re under constant pressure. Silva has blood on his hands, he completely unbalanced the team by removing Iwobi from the middle of the pitch where he was running the show. Baffling decision. Additionally, instilling mental toughness is the job of the leadership, or at least setting up practices to navigate the final 10 minutes of matches. This has been going on for far too long. I’m trying to look at it with a calm head but I’m getting to the point where a change might be best for all. And I won’t even get started on what has happened to ESR under his leadership.
I really like Bassey and think he's generally been very good for us, but you can't shy away from how he performed yesterday, which was a continuation of the careless, borderline-arrogant manner in which he uses the ball. Everyone makes mistakes, but with Andersen out he needed to be our dependable rock at the back, and in actuality Diop was far more effective at his job yesterday. The critical take has to be that without his mistakes on the ball, Newcastle don't score either of those goals, and it's not the first time we're saying that about him this season.
On Smith-Rowe, I do think his ongoing injury recovery (dating back to Arsenal!) should be considered when thinking about why he's not quite hit expectations (and, until this game, was kept out of the team by King). The AM/SS role is tricky in the modern PL, and far more than just ESR have struggled there - you get glimpses of what he can do (he assisted Berge's shot on target with his back to goal, for instance) but it's not enough over the course of a game, and Iwobi was far stronger in the centre after the break.
I don't think Silva should be the main focus of the criticism, though. Whilst there's definitely problems at the moment, the team are clearly responding badly to the injuries and loss of form, and are experiencing a run of defeats unheard of at this stage of a season. Whilst I agree that undoing his decision to put Iwobi in the middle with the King sub was wrong, we shouldn't forget that he ha the sense to make the switch in the first place! It's rubbish at the moment, but we have to back the manager - part of the reason things feel bad right now is because of the work he's done to take us back to the PL and even dream of a European finish. The cup game, though important not to lose, is a massive chance to return to winning ways, and restore a bit of confidence before a similarly important game at home to Wolves.
I think that it is easy to get panicky when we lose 4 on the bounce, especially when Sunderland are in second having beaten a blunt Chelsea. Liverpool have also lost 4 on the run but are they saying time for Slot to go? Bassey killed the hard work of the whole team with two terrible errors of judgement. At this level you must be error free as a basic, table stakes, that has usually been the difference with the newly promoted teams. We have a ton of injuries as ZZ pointed out, the knock of them is that the key players get tired - Iwobi and Sess were knackered at the end. I thought for once Marco missed a trick with not going to a 5 last 10 mins especially with Cuenca on the bench. I agree the TC and King changes didn’t work. We will beat Wycombe and Wolves. Players will return and we will climb the table so stop the nonsense about getting rid of Marco, some people either have very short memories or have a sense of entitlement that a club of our revenues cannot have in the times of PSR. UTF!
Ironically I think some fans are calling for Slot to go at Liverpool! Not the sensible ones though.
I agree that things are a bit hectic at the minute - it's been a while since our early season form has been this poor, we're used to having flying starts under Silva and it's ugly seeing us in 16th. The injuries, fatigue, and loss of form to key players like Bassey is clearly having an impact, and it will be a case of trying to push through.
Like you, I share optimism about the next two fixtures - it's important not to discount teams like Wycombe, who have the potential to be a pain and certainly can't be allowed to sneak a lead in front of their own fans through our complacency, but there's surely enough quality to beat a League 1 side even with our injuries. Wolves feels very important - depending on how their game against Burnley goes there's a chance teams will overtake us if we lose that one, and then we really will be in the relegation mix. I think a few of the injuries will have cleared by then, but we can only hope...
As much as I didn’t really want to read this after the result, thank you Owen, as ever such an insightful piece. On the rare occasions I miss a game I feel reconnected with your excellent analysis.
Certainly disappointing to lose again and the first goal in my view is firmly Bassey’s fault, no excuse for that at this level.
However, the two matches this coming week are far more important and will define our season more than playing away against a European team. COYW.
Harsh on Bassey in my opinion. While the mistakes are clear, mistakes happen when you’re under constant pressure. Silva has blood on his hands, he completely unbalanced the team by removing Iwobi from the middle of the pitch where he was running the show. Baffling decision. Additionally, instilling mental toughness is the job of the leadership, or at least setting up practices to navigate the final 10 minutes of matches. This has been going on for far too long. I’m trying to look at it with a calm head but I’m getting to the point where a change might be best for all. And I won’t even get started on what has happened to ESR under his leadership.
I really like Bassey and think he's generally been very good for us, but you can't shy away from how he performed yesterday, which was a continuation of the careless, borderline-arrogant manner in which he uses the ball. Everyone makes mistakes, but with Andersen out he needed to be our dependable rock at the back, and in actuality Diop was far more effective at his job yesterday. The critical take has to be that without his mistakes on the ball, Newcastle don't score either of those goals, and it's not the first time we're saying that about him this season.
On Smith-Rowe, I do think his ongoing injury recovery (dating back to Arsenal!) should be considered when thinking about why he's not quite hit expectations (and, until this game, was kept out of the team by King). The AM/SS role is tricky in the modern PL, and far more than just ESR have struggled there - you get glimpses of what he can do (he assisted Berge's shot on target with his back to goal, for instance) but it's not enough over the course of a game, and Iwobi was far stronger in the centre after the break.
I don't think Silva should be the main focus of the criticism, though. Whilst there's definitely problems at the moment, the team are clearly responding badly to the injuries and loss of form, and are experiencing a run of defeats unheard of at this stage of a season. Whilst I agree that undoing his decision to put Iwobi in the middle with the King sub was wrong, we shouldn't forget that he ha the sense to make the switch in the first place! It's rubbish at the moment, but we have to back the manager - part of the reason things feel bad right now is because of the work he's done to take us back to the PL and even dream of a European finish. The cup game, though important not to lose, is a massive chance to return to winning ways, and restore a bit of confidence before a similarly important game at home to Wolves.