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3 months ago
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Getting the Newcastle United squad back together.
After a very very difficult four or five months, real hope that by late January and into February, things would be heading back to some kind of normality.
That certainly by March, the fans and Eddie Howe would be at last seeing a Newcastle United squad in substance, not just name, available on a matchday.
Heading into that first match in March, the dominant 3-0 win over Wolves, it looked like it was all coming together.
Suddenly, in the course of these last couple of hours or so of football, the Newcastle United squad has fallen to pieces pretty much.
Kieran Trippier, Harvey Barnes, Anthony Gordon and Dan Burn, three and a half injuries that have wiped out any idea of a Newcastle United squad ahead of our FA Cup quarter-final.
Just how much bad luck can one club and manager have in one season?
Kieran Trippier picking up a freak calf injury and forced off in the second half against Wolves, not thought to be serious but enough to keep him out for Chelsea and Man City matches.
Harvey Barnes missing from the Chelsea matchday squad with what the official club site describes as a ‘minor hamstring injury’ and after Monday’s match, Craig Hope of The Mail saying that his information is that like Trippier, Barnes’ injury not thought to be serious but enough to keep him out of these Chelsea and Man City matches.
Anthony Gordon not looking right from early on and took a number of kicks (along with other United players) from Chelsea players, the woeful referee shamefully letting this go on until the home side had seen the desired effect. Gordon has been our season-long talisman and I’m sure the rest of you were the same as me watching on TV, almost leaping six foot off my sofa when the physio tried to stretch out the former Everton player’s knee / leg, as Gordon’s agony and wish to leap in the air in pain, was all too obvious.
Afterwards, Eddie Howe sounding (see below) anything but hopeful on our player of the season. You would certainly be talking Lazarus if Anthony Gordon magically appears on the pitch at Man City.
Dan Burn is the half injury I refer to, hopefully in his case the initial fears of serious injury look to be unfounded. Eddie Howe hopeful on his captain (for this Chelsea match) and that thankfully his fall hasn’t led to a repeat of that serious back injury he suffered in a similar fall against Arsenal back in the Autumn.
Against Wolves, Eddie Howe had the sheer luxury of being able at 2-0 to bring on from the bench the likes of Livramento, Almiron, Barnes, Miley and Anderson.
On Saturday at Man City, three of those five will have to start I reckon, whilst Barnes is knackered and Anderson clearly still some way off from being able to start a match, his frustration all too obvious last night when coming off the bench, physically nowhere close enough to have the impact he is very much capable of when fully fit.
So from looking like we were heading back towards a Newcastle United squad with increasing numbers of positive options for the starting eleven and for changes during games, it feels to me very much like on Saturday at the Etihad the starting eleven will pretty much select itself and positive available options from the bench so so limited.
I am just wondering what the options are now for us to try and get this Man City FA Cup match postponed until after the international break…
Eddie Howe asked after the final whistle about the Anthony Gordon first half substitution and injury at Stamford Bridge:
“I can’t really add too much to it, other than the fact that it is a knee injury.
“It was strange.
“There was no mechanism, or moment when he felt it, it was just there in the game according to Anthony and he was in quite a bit of pain.
“We don’t quite know how bad it is.
“We fear it’s not looking too good.
“He is in a lot of pain but it is early days.
“I think it was quite early in the game but there there was no moment where he felt the injury, just that a pain was there.
“We sent someone over to the far side of the pitch because he didn’t look like he was moving right.
“Eventually he succumbed to the injury.”
Stats via BBC Sport:
Chelsea 3 Newcastle 2 – Monday 11 March 8pm:
Goals:
Newcastle United:
Isak 43, Murphy 90
Chelsea:
Jackson 6, Palmer 57, Mudryk 76
(Half-time stats in brackets)
Possession was Chelsea 45% (42%) Newcastle 55% (58%)
Total shots were Chelsea 12 (7) Newcastle 11 (5)
Shots on target were Chelsea 8 (4) Newcastle 3 (1)
Corners were Chelsea 0 (0) Newcastle 4 (1)
Referee: John Brooks
Newcastle team v Chelsea:
Dubravka, Livramento, Schar, Botman, Burn (Krafth 69), Longstaff, Bruno (White 81), Willock (Miley 80), Almiron (Anderson 69), Gordon (Murphy 36), Isak
Unused subs:
Karius, Lascelles, Ritchie, Targett
(Doesn’t sound good on Anthony Gordon – Read HERE)
(Watch official Chelsea 3 Newcastle 2 match highlights HERE – All 5 goals and how did that go in?)
(Chelsea 3 Newcastle 2 – Match ratings and comments on all Newcastle United players – Read HERE)
(Chelsea 3 Newcastle 2 – Instant Newcastle United fan / writer reaction – Read HERE)
Newcastle United confirmed matches to mid-April 2024:
Saturday 16 March 2024 – Man City v Newcastle (5.30pm) BBC1
Saturday 30 March 2024 – Newcastle v West Ham (12.30pm) TNT Sports
Tuesday 2 April 2024 – Newcastle v Everton (7.30pm) TNT Sports
Saturday 6 April 2024 – Fulham v Newcastle (3pm)
Saturday 13 April 2024 – Newcastle v Spurs (12.30pm) TNT Sports

 
