Harvey Barnes' inconsistent form has become a symbol of Newcastle United's wider attacking struggles, with the club's centre-forwards managing just two goals between them in all competitions this season.
Barnes has been portrayed as the pin-up boy of Newcastle 2.0 following the departure of several high-profile players and their manager. His spectacular goals and Robin Hood archery celebrations cast him as the standard bearer who could lead a youthful United to respectability, earning him a new improved contract to keep him at the club.
Instead, fans have witnessed more of the same: eye-catching goals followed by periods of anonymity. This is the sort of infuriating form that would never have made him United's preferred left winger ahead of Anthony Gordon in previous seasons.
Former scout's verdict on Barnes
Former Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown said: "Inconsistent has always been the word to describe Harvey Barnes and it doesn't seem like that's going to change at this stage."
"When he's on it, he can be one of the best wingers in the Premier League - he's electric, he can beat his man, he scores great goals, and he looks a real top-class player. But those performances might come once in every six or seven games, maybe even more than that, and when he's not on it you hardly notice he's even on the pitch."
Brown added: "Look at Anthony Gordon compared to how Barnes has been this season and it's a major drop off. It's no wonder Newcastle's results haven't been great. They will be concerned about him because he's playing a big part in their starting line up this season but his performances haven't shown he deserves to be there."
Barnes' see-saw showings are certainly startling. He has been capped by England as a scorer of belting goals, yet until this campaign he was a regular on the bench since his arrival from Leicester. His current challenger, Baz Toure, joined from Hoffenheim for £42m but has been scorned as a Premier League starter, providing less competition than Barnes did to Gordon.
The No 9 problem persists
The club's centre-forward issue was brought into sharp focus during the SuperMac derby at Fulham. Malcolm Macdonald, United's No 9 legend, was born 150 yards from Craven Cottage, played for Fulham under Bobby Robson, and later managed them to promotion. United went to Fulham and displayed the toothless intent that has become their trademark this season.
SuperMac's old No 9 shirt is currently carried by Yoane Wissa, who isn't good enough to be regularly picked by Mathias Jaissle in his starting line-up. Wissa has made 29 Premier League appearances in almost a season and a half here, scoring just two goals - a shocking return for a £55m investment. He has been tried in the No 10 role to shoehorn him into the team, but with little impact, except for getting Dan Burn's goal chalked off.
The alternatives for the centre-forward role are Will Osula and Matias Ferdandez-Pardo, who equally cannot hold a candle to SuperMac. Both are lightning fast like Macdonald, but there any resemblance ends. The three pop gun central attackers - Wissa, Osula and Pardo - have scored all of two goals between them across league and cup this season.
The No 9 problem has been known since Alexander Isak went on strike to get away. Isak notched 62 goals in 109 outings, with 25 goals in all competitions in one season followed by 27 based upon 23 league goals from 34 matches. Many attempts have been made to replace him, much money wasted, but it remains a problem for the next transfer window. Bringing back Nick Woltemade in the summer is not the answer, as he is part of the problem.
