Newcastle United problems – Anything to worry about? | OneFootball

I keep hearing and reading mention of these Newcastle United problems.

I don’t really get it.

I mean, there are problems and then there are…problems.

What set me off at first was when I read about the ‘problems’ Eddie Howe has with Anthony Gordon and Nick Woltemade.

Namely what happens now with penalties.

Nick Woltemade ‘indicated’ that he would have quite liked to take one in Belgium, only for Anthony Gordon to take both and give the keeper no chance with either.

Then four days, with Gordon having been subbed and a penalty awarded late on against Forest. A lame Matz Sels dance routine across his line was ended with the keeper frozen in time, left statuesque as Woltemade produced the most clinical of unstoppable penalties, walking a few short strides and putting it in the top corner.

Apparently this creates problems for Eddie Howe, who should take the next one?

Well, I have watched this lot for a long time and I have never lost any sleep worrying about United having too many confident and clinical penalty takers. When I have worried is when Newcastle in the past have had nobody who wants to take penalty…

I would suggest that the competition between the two players will simply drive them to practice even more on their penalty taking techniques to try and convince Eddie Howe to let them take the next one. A win-win all round.

On the Newcastle United problems front, we have another pressing issue, apparently. Namely, which two central defenders should be first choice?

Thiaw, Schar, Botman and Burn have all player there this season, in the middle of defence, but which two should be seen as first choice?

Much like the penalty taking ‘problem’, this is something that only has positives, not ‘problems’, to deal with.

This is a dream for Eddie Howe and the fans, four high quality central defenders and a case can be made for starting all of them in the middle of defence. At the minute, it is only a three into two dilemma seemingly, as Dan Burn is at left-back and both Livramento and Hall out injured.

However, even with everyone fit I don’t see this as a problem at all.

I think some Newcastle United fans still have trouble accepting a squad, rather than 11 players who automatically start if available. I think that now Newcastle have at least 18 or 19 starting eleven players and that includes all four of this central defenders. So 18 or 19 starting eleven players and a case of if any of them are picked in a particular match, I won’t see it as any kind of a particular weakness, a major step down.

An excellent article this week by Lewis Jones on The Mag said that Newcastle United now have the best group of central defenders in the Premier League and I wouldn’t argue. There are some outstanding central defenders at other PL clubs but four of them???

I am loving the fact that Eddie Howe has finally had the chance to build towards a squad, rather than relying too much on so few players.

I really look forward to the crying on from some fans and those in the media when we have Yoane Wissa available, then hearing ridiculous nonsense about how either he or Nick Woltemade has been ‘dropped’ for any particular match and how Eddie Howe has got it ‘wrong’….again!

You can’t have too many quality options and especially when there are so many games to go round in four different competitions. Long may it continue.