Newcastle United head coach Matthias Jaissle has now overseen 10 Premier League matches, and the verdict on his new-look side is "better but not good enough," according to a Chronicle Live analysis of the team's recent form.
The assessment comes after a 1-1 draw at Fulham, where Newcastle took the lead with a wonder goal from Jacob Murphy only to concede a sloppy equaliser within three minutes. The result extended a run that has seen United take seven points from a possible 21 in their last seven league games, with two victories, one draw and four defeats.
Recent Run Against Average Opposition
The analysis highlights that the poor run came against opposition described as "bang average" with "no pedigree performers": Leeds, Hull, Coventry, Villa, Palace, Everton and Fulham. The upcoming seven fixtures to Christmas are considerably tougher, featuring Arsenal, Brighton, Manchester United, Sunderland, Ipswich, Brentford and Manchester City.
Goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek was credited with earning the point at Craven Cottage through "some super saves," after Newcastle had also won three of their four visits to London this season, drawing the other.
Summer Recruitment Under Scrutiny
Fan anger has been directed at the summer recruitment, which is described as "kids bought into a man's world." The analysis points to two extremes of the spending: Nico Gonzalez, the 24-year-old signing from Manchester City, whose lack of pace is "brutally exposed" in a midfield two, and Aladji Bamba, who could cost up to £35 million with add-ons but has not made a competitive start and has been restricted to just 27 minutes of action.
Jaissle has indicated that Gonzalez and Sean Steur cannot play together, and the analysis concludes that if that is the case, Steur should play ahead of Gonzalez. Bamba could not even make the 20-man match day squad against Fulham when Jacob Ramsey and Joelinton were unavailable.
Formation and Attacking Concerns
The analysis argues that Jaissle has been "stubborn" in sticking with a 4-2-3-1 formation despite lacking a natural No 10 and a traditional No 9. Osula, Wissa and Fernandez-Pardo are not traditional centre-forwards, and persisting with two in midfield is described as "suicidal."
Individual errors were highlighted as a major problem, with Osula "hopeless" and Harvey Barnes missing a hat-trick of good chances. Yoane Wissa was also criticised for fouling his marker at the back post when Dan Burn scored, giving the referee the excuse to rule the goal out. Newcastle now have a fortnight to reflect on what the analysis calls a "great fall from grace" following the glories of Wembley and the Champions League.
