Did Newcastle United get away with it again at Bournemouth? TF Podcast

it's the true Faith ncast United podcast and we join you to talk about ncast United's one-1 draw at Bournemouth I'm Alex I'm joined by Sai Charlotte and Adam Woodington this week as we analyze a very difficult day for ncast United on the south coast ahead of an absolutely Monumental week uh fory Castle United on the pitch and off the pitch with the transfer window closing s I'll start with you mayate happy with that um no know I was just thinking in my head there like four points in the first two games why are we all sitting here feeling really Gloom about a one-1 draw away from home but it really had that feeling to it I didn't feel happy after the game I felt really frustrated and I felt like oh God we're not we're not as good as I thought we were going to be so far this season and yet you know four points isn't that bad you know it's better than it was this time last year um all be at different opposition um performance-wise still a lot to be desired but I suppose on the flip side of that we haven't played particularly well in two games and have four points on the board so does that mean you know when we start playing well we'll be really good maybe I'm trying to see some positives but no I think uh most people uh I certainly feel like the four people in this room today were frustrated at that game and and had a lot of kind of ill not ill feeling but you know it's it's hard to be positive about um another opportunity missed to to beat a team that to be honest they're going to be bottom five bottom six this season in my opinion and Southampton are another team who probably are going to be in the relegation zone so from those two games given our Ambitions this season and given that we've talked all preseason about this is our chance to get back in the champion League clean runed it no European football it feels like we're going to start going through the same thing of just dropping points when we in games we want to be winning so yes it's not the end of the world a point is great a point is fine away from home in any Premier League game and that's an Eddie how ISM you know no no games are easy but I don't I wasn't buzzing at all with it with the one-1 draw I think the context is important isn't it because no I'm not particularly happy with the one-1 draw away to Bournemouth but then actually in the context of that game I'm pretty happy with the point from that game because they took the lead we were pretty Scrappy in Parts you know didn't look like the same team that we put especially Midfield like Joe Linton was sort of off the pace yesterday and um and I so so yes I'm happy with it in that context but no I'm not happy with it because um this season we don't have you know we're only two games in and you were right we do need to remember that four points from two games is a good return um but it's the it's the nature in which it's happened that has has been very um confidence I'll take the point but I thought that was a really really tough watch I thought we were quite passive and stagnant for for large portions of that first half and you're right it's when when we see these fixtures come out there there's something about Bournemouth a way that just saps any kind of fluency from us it always just seems to be this this stigma effect that we can't really seem to shake it never feels easy when we go down there and I just didn't think think that we took the game to them as we should the opening exchanges seemed really really encouraging really positive it's how I would want us to play and get them on the back foot but once they took a hold of that first half we found it really really difficult to claw our way back into it and it was only deep into the second half once we'd made a few subs and refreshed that lineup a bit that we actually started to cause them a few problems and maybe gave us some sort of direct approach that we've been lacking for most of it but all in all we were really sloppy I thought I thought decision making was was below par and if we have designs on trying to qualify for Europe this season we need to do a hell of a lot better than we did yesterday interesting points I think s you're a little bit harsh on Bournemouth they saying the bottom five or six I think they're probably I don't know whether they'll get top half but they they finished 11th last season um they looked like a good side I think from a Newcastle perspective overall like you've all said a points all right from that four points from two we're on the way uh the the big issue is that the game is chaos the game is chaos ncle still pretty helpless defensively like they were last season they're still dangerous going forward like they were last season so we haven't really seen so far yet any progress and whilst I think Four Points four points is a definitely a reasonable return from those two fixtures I think you could also paint a you could you could easily imagine an alternative reality where we have zero points from from two games and it and it's probably not unfair based on the balance of playing on Newcastle and borman's XG was almost identical yesterday at just just under 2.1 each so Newcastle Newcastle could have won that game they could have won that game they had chances to win that game uh and they also could have lost it quite easily in somewhat argue uh should have lost it based on the dis go for Bournemouth in the the 90th minute which will come on to but I I do very much feel like they've got away with it for the first two weeks now the positive part of me wants to kind of identify that how's teams in the Premier League always start slowly he's a he is a bad starter with his teams I think this idea that Newcastle kind of launch into the first six games after a brilliant preseason just not hasn't you know been born out in either of uh how was two full seasons at the club the you know the 5-1 against Villa last season was brilliant but then we lose the next three four points from the first two is is is good I think if you look back at 2223 which was two years ago in a different season in a different era but fine but the the the second game then was at Brighton um who had finished 11th I believe the previous season and we got away with it there as well allbe it nil nil Nick Pope makes several saves to keep us in that game and we go and have a great season so I'm kind of G providing both ends of the spectrum here of positive and negative in that we're getting away with it in in in an idea in another world we could lose those games we could be we also could have been looking at a second successive straight red M um in two games which would have been a disaster which we'll talk about later as well but also if how's teams start slowly which they tend to do four points ain't bad and we have the return of Sandra tonight look forward to this week that will enhance and improve the team and we hopefully will have at least one kind of guaranteed first team player to come in so in terms of where Newcastle are compared to a lot of other sides in the league they're not badly placed once once you look at the surface but as soon as you start to scratch below the surface a little it does feel like it's come perly close to unraveling in the first couple of weeks what do you think we know that Gordon's had a you know a upset summer and he needs a bit time to get back to sharpness he looked better second half but you know first game and the first half of this game he still looks a little bit off it um basically all of our key players need to get up to that level um of of of which EDH how gets us to after five six games normally so I'm confident that the fact that we're picking up points without any of those players paying particularly well boards well uh as long as we do hit those Heights you just you've got that inkling in the back of your head what if we don't what if we don't turn it around this time what if we don't build up that momentum but yeah I suppose we've got to go with the with what we know is that we do tend to get there with Eddie how and and after a slow start the only my only concern is that bouth did it they were pressing his all game they had a lot more energy A lot more they were first everything and I think I think Alan Smith said it bang on half time on the commentary like Newcastle need to start winning some individual battles because Bournemouth are just winning every battle on this pitch so far and that that was was concerning because it wasn't so much the uh the high pressing energy it was just kind of our desire to to to win and be better that that seemed to be lacking but that brings us nicely on to the team then because you say we got better after half time side but we didn't we got better we got better when he that's what I made made the subs on the 59th minute which is pretty early for Eddie how and he made he made a lot of subs and he made them quite early for him and the introduction of Kieran trippier and Harvey Barnes seemed to massive improve Newcastle uh Joe Willet comes on after that as well and does some good things uh so it really kind of shines a light on team selection and this is the this is the conversation that we need to have because we're all Ed how fans I think that's fair to say we all back and we all think he's a good manager but there's just a sense that he has these rules and all the fans as fans would know the rules so you know he has kind of hierarchies and he has certain rules so Wingers have to be inverted unless they Jacob Murphy okay um and it's to say you can only play you know we have Joe willick and uh J Linton are right footed players but they're only not playing the left and Sean longstaff is allowed to play on the right and he's not he's always going to play two center backs with a right foot and a left foot and it doesn't matter who they are that they seem to be the rules tell me if you think that's unfair or you think I'm misrepresenting but on a really basic level there the kind of Eddie ho isms that all fans just accept now he's been here a long time and I look at newcastle's right side yesterday and it has Tino liendo and it has Amil craft sha longstaff and Jacob Murphy and looking at the right side before the game it looks like a a huge weakness not just offensively but also defensively um and if you look at what happens in the game Jacob Murphy gets haed off again early he has a 60% plus completion one of the worst in the pitch which is standard for Jacob Murphy almost every game he plays sha longstaff is the only Newcastle player who starts the game who doesn't make a single pass what they call a progressive pass into um bulma's final third the only player who starts Newcastle fails to do that one of your three Midfield players um Amil craft seems to let the ball go across the Box because he doesn't realize T's in the Box behind them and he kind of sticks his hands up to be like we're going to let this go through and then puts his head in his hands and Tino Lio has a tough afternoon doesn't really contribute anything offensively there is an argument to be made that none of those players have to play none none of those players have to play uh he could play Lloyd Kelly uh at right center back and some people might be listening to this thinking you know what horror playing a left foot or a right center back other teams do it and and and I I can't see how l k Kelly would make such an error uh that Amil craft makes there uh long staff um barely plays a forward pass all game um his pass completion is very high because he he only passes to Nick Pope it seems um and Jacob Murphy the whole right side just isn't good enough now now there's lots of caveats to why other players aren't playing um you know is Jacob Murphy fit enough to play 90 minutes because in my head he's just come back from two serious injuries he came back last time got in just straight away but then also I believe he was in Japan and that feels like a long timeo Joe sorry Joe will he was in Japan so that's a long time ago you know how how long do they need to get fit um like I said you could play Lloyd Kelly at Center back I think Lloyd Kelly is a center back rather than a left back um you could play ke trippier you know who comes on and massively uh improves ncast United question to anyone who wants to take it does anyone want to defend the team selection and think you know what how has to do what he does because from the outside looking in and we said this a lot last season it looks like he has a lot of very good footballers on the bench who can't get a game ahead of lads who just consistently week after week aren't very good I think sorry I I'll let you speak in a second my promise I think for me I I just sort of feel like I have to trust the manager and the coaching staff and and the um you know Kier and tripier there's all this kind of rumors and and and he had a weird summer with England and all of that stuff and perhaps that's in his head and there's all the we' like Alex said at the top of the show there's another week left of the transfer window there's all those kinds of rumors coming as well and and and does that sort of get into your head and and and make things difficult it also the camera cut to him when he was on the bench and his head was in his hands um after bouras had scored and but but head was in his hands for ages it wasn't just an instant reaction to the to the girl and I was a bit like oh gosh like what we shouldn't probably have him there if he's just going to sit with his head in his hands and so maybe that's the right call not having him in particular on the pitch I'm just singling him out then he came on and I was like oh yeah he's really good he just studies the ship I said it yes today I'm saying it again he he just is a calming leaderly presence and we needed that because the game had been so kind of all over the place and chaotic as as you rightly say Alex so so then when he comes on and the game changes and we have that spell of sort of 20 minutes or so of of of control and and we managed to get a goal back during it then I think well what the like even if we weren't going to even if okay some of these players can't play the full 90 minutes can't we stop with the best team we have and I think like again I'm singling trippy outout in particular but I think he is he he's he is better he he would have been better to play 60 65 minutes of the game and then pull pull him if you wanted to but um so so that confuses me about team selection it's sorry Adam I just I want to talk about trippier a bit it's really really difficult situation we have now because we all like Tina Lio and I think most people were buzzing with livero and Hall last week against sou that right the new Lads are in they're going to make a name for themselves as our kind of stable fullbacks and they've got the opportunity to do that for 10 years um Tina liento currently is not as good as Kieran trippier as a footballer Kieran trippa is a world- class footballer and probably still is albeit he made some errors last season and you can you can tell he's getting to the ladder end of his career but that is a drop off and if you know I advocate if if we're going to sell him because of his wages and because we probably only have one more year out of him maybe it is the right time to sell him and that's the kind of decision you have to make to progress as a club but we have to accept the fact that right now Tina liendo isn't as good and isn't as influential on a game of football as Kieran trippier when he's playing well and even in terms of set pieces Kier trippier comes on for half an hour takes like four really good Corners a couple of good free kicks and just is winning the ball and doing everything he needs to do livero didn't have a good game um you know none of us were really questioning that selection at the start of the game let's be honest you know liver me a right back he he's inned that position and I think we all think he's capable of it but let's be honest he's not as good as Kieran trippy and he doesn't yet he he hopefully will be he hopefully has that potential but um I I'm now concerned that if we if we do sell tripier which seems still quite likely given the kind of way yesterday played out and trip getting quite emotional at the end of the game we're left with one decent right back uh in Tino who doesn't then have a load of pressure on him to to keep his place so that's not a good place to be Adam what's your thoughts on it all mate I think that um yeah on on trip year I think whatever the situation is there we need it resolved we need his future resolved whether that means he's exiting the club or whether that means he's going to stay in commit for another year however that plays out we need that resolve because it feels like it's unsettling in the minute and it feels like we can't really sort of progress with him sort of on the sidelines he's he's just he's in limbo at the minute and I don't think that's helping the squad I was surprised to see Kelly left back I thought he had a really decent game in the preseason friendly at St james' Park from from Center back pinging balls out and you're right he he does just want to sit in he's a different type of left back to Lewis Hall Lewis Hall is a lot more Progressive he likes to the ball to get up the pitch um and I think that Lloyd Kelly is more in the he's more mobile than Dan burn but he's more in the Dan burn style I'm a left-sided Defender who can also sort of play left back as well and you're right we we didn't get many opportunities in that first half to Peg them back because they were coming at us and we didn't really have an outlet for it we couldn't get out so I thought that was an issue the the biggest one for me is the jaob Murphy thing and I wonder whether you know Harvey BN scores a really good goal at James Park week before the season started think okay he looks sharp he looks Lively and I wonder because he had to pull off Jacob Murphy really early in the last game whether he felt he kind of owed him to say okay well you can have a you know have a proper start now but he is positioning our questioned a lot of last season I don't know why we aren't playing bonds or giving him a shot or why haven't we at least attempted the front three of Gordon isach and bonds in whichever configuration you think is is going to be better because as we've all been saying we need our best players on the pitch and when we were kind of struggling you've you know you've highlighted that right hand side I think that right hand side improves obviously um massively when tanali comes back into that side and you've got somebody kind of senior that you've got someone who can get the foot on the ball and yes that's what trippa did on that right hand side that we absolutely needed but maybe tanali can provide that and that could help livero but yeah I agree with what you said about livero he hasn't started the season very explosively and I think that's almost putting a spotlight on on the whole tripy situation as well so yeah I thought he got a few calls wrong yesterday and I think Harvey Barnes and Lewis Hall deserve to start the next one Barnes is definitely the one isn't he because we've talked about it before on this show and I'm sure lots of listeners and viewers have discussed it as well we aren't in a position with the squad to have a 38 million backup when the players we've listed who were nearly all of them uh you know particularly long staff craft uh and Murphy all here pre takeover throw Fab and sha in there as well and when how signs Barnes he says in his interview he can play Both Sides he clearly doesn't believe that although we did a little bit of kind of in-game switching last season with him and um I discussed this on on X last night got some really good responses and people were kind of saying well Gordon's best from the left so you can't move your best player and B's whole game is cutting in so if you put him on the right you lose that option and he's kind of half the player but I kind of feel I would just like to see it happen you know could could it be any worse than what Jacob Murphy provided yesterday and to your point Adam if he's again these are just ho isms the fact that you're thinking is he doing this basically because of like fairness and a hierarchical structure of how things are supposed to happen rather than just picking the best player in the position to win the game or keeping better players off the pitch so that you've got a stronger bench I just don't feel like these are normal things that other managers in the Premier League do you might not be doing these things this could just this is just our interpretation of it but you're right Adam the front three of Barnes Gordon and isach whatever the position of the players and you'd assume I think most fans would think Gordon on the right and and Barnes on the left but I don't actually care switch them in game if you've got to it I just feel if you're an position fullback you you're way more worried about that than you are Jacob Murphy you just it's not even it's not even close and you saw BS yesterday you know come really close with a shot um got got the assist for the goal makes good runs is intelligent um I just feel like Newcastle just aren't a good enough side to have a player of that Talent sat on the bench for Jacob Murphy and easy you know the things that the manager isn't trying always work because you know that's how it works so if you just did this this would happen happen everything would be fine if you played Harvey barns it's possibly just a little bit more complex than that but I just feel like and I've said this before particularly in games like you said side before and you mentioned on the preview on Patron when the opposition particularly in Midfield are going to just press press press Howry relentlessly forces backwards all those things you need players who can keep the ball long staff and Murphy just cannot it's not it's not like they're not trying they they just don't have the technical quality and ability unlike a tanali or even a Joe Willock to be able to keep the ball Under Pressure you are just going to consistently give the ball back to the opposition and that when you look at um that spell from kind of 15 minutes to 45 yesterday when Newcastle hardly win a jewel they hardly having the ball they don't have a shot it's because the other team have just worked out what they need to do and the players they need to press and jol Linton loses the ball for the goal which is very poor and it's his fault but when Sky showed the kind of zoomed out angle he doesn't have any options where where where's where's TR longstaff makes like a forward Run next to two other midfielders like that's not an option for J Lon to to pass to and it's still I'll say it again Jo linton's fault I'm not sure long fault that goal but it just feels like we need better footballers and this kind of brings it all back to the next thing we're going to talk about but I'm key on on on your views on bars as well um Newcastle have been at their PSR limit for a while so it's not like they've chosen to keep funds back or anything like that but that there is a feeling that if if and it is a big if if Barnes can't get in this team if if if EDH how has decided and he seems to have decided that Anthony Gordon plays left and it's between him and Harvey bonds it's a bad transfer it's a bad signing because because we should have used those funds to improve on other parts of the pitch which needed it and it just seems like when when they were having transfer discussions last summer surely with a limited budget and let's face it like 100 million in each summer window was a fairly limit mited budget for the top end of the Premier League how could you choose to spend it on a player like surely that can't have been the discussion right we'll bring in Harvey bonds um and it's between him and an Gordon and then the options on the right on Murphy and almeron just seems like a real like up to be honest with you if that is indeed the case I think if you cast your mind back at the time we didn't know I mean Anthony Gordon had had a great uh under 21 Euros but he hadn't done much for us yet and I think we were all worried that whether he was a 40 million pound dud now that's obviously been proven kind just like spectacularly wrong he was brilliant um but at the time especially with the champions league as well we thought we might need options there um I I agree we left ourselves very light on the right hand side but also we had a really purple season from Miggy and you know things were slightly different at the time I thought um was interesting is it Barnes on the left and Gord on the right because I thought when Barnes was on the left and you know he put in two really really excellent crosses obviously just before the goal for for Gordon uh he puts in an excellent cross and that decision making is what we really need in that final third you put the ball in the right time Joel Linton meets it yes it hits his shoulder and it kind of dampens the the impact of the header and Netto has to almost play make quite a an agile improvised save because it comes at him a lot slower than he's expecting it but then one of the best crosses that Gordon put in was from the right hand side which I think was from either a free kick or a corner on that right hand side it comes to him deep almost in the tripier position and he whips one in for Dan burn who meets it really really well so once we started putting crosses into the box yesterday we started asking questions of their defense and it started causing them problems and that's when we were able to kind of pin them back and we had Corner after Corner after Corner after Corner obviously after that we then conceded corner at the other end of the pitch which um leads to that dis lowed goal but it was that pressure it was the it was flighting quality balls over that they couldn't deal with and there seemed to be ramping up an intensity at the end of that game and we were probably pretty unlucky to not convert one of those chances but if we're talking about Gordon impact on the right and Barnes impact on the left they can both cross from their respective positions and that could cause problems for opposition yeah we we have to move on from from this point but it does feel like a lot of fans naturally are saying Gordon right Barnes left that's what should be there against SP I don't think it will be I think Murphy keep his place but be interesting to see what Barnes does through the week because he assume he's going to start against Forest um let's talk about the the um two incidents quickly before we talk about the rest of the week there's two that some would suggest and particularly kind of non- Newcastle fans suggest we got away with massively and that is the winning goal and the jinton yellow card clothes line so anyone I mean Adam actually quickly if you can just you you think it was the correct call to just allow that go yes I think when the the ball comes over I mean for a start burn is marking nobody at the time let's let's not forget that but it was uh a atro it comes he shows a lot of uh a lot of strength trying to get in ahead of burn once he's there but it clearly hits his bicep the ball hits his bicep people are saying it comes off his shoulder it doesn't some people are saying it comes off Dan Burn's shoulder which was underneath cement our arros arm so that was incorrect as well it clearly hits his bicep and goes in we were very very lucky that it got spotted because it didn't look like that in real time but it was the correct call um I would have been yeah I would have been good if we' had that goal dis allowed against us but it is his arm and we've had goals dis allowed for far less than that as well so it was the right call but we were damn lucky at the end there I I agree I think we would have been absolutely fuming if that was against us let's be honest because it is it's a gray area in this whole thing of like is it on the shirt sleeve but it was quite far down as I'm might to say that is a hand ball yeah it's I don't know it felt like a bit of a a dirty let off when really it shouldn't be you know it's a handle I'd have been so angry if that was us and I'm so happy that it was them like it just it's clearly hand Ball but if it had been us I'd have been like well I don't know it's shoulder I think that's just that's the nature of the the bias isn't it and you can watch it back and watch it back and you me a Newcastle fan will see different thing to a bouth fan and I do I'm friends with some Bourn fans and they were like once again V robbing us this season and I was sort of like well maybe but also maybe not um yeah I I think ultimately right decision not just for um the actual rules of the game but for us as Newcastle fans on that because we're running out of time does anyone think it was a red card I wouldn't have been surprised if it had been classic one for me if he gives it as a red card V don't over to it yeah um so we're very fortunate that the onfield decision went our way I I I I I think it's a yellow card all day if he clothes Lin his neck I think that's a completely different conversation and in real time that's probably what a lot of fans saw but if you see the replay he grabs a shoulder and he pulls him down it's a yellow card it's no more it's it's a mountain out of a m Hill for me he spins him doesn't he so spins him well really quickly cuz we've gone on a bit longer than we planned about these things massive week ahead fny Castle United now so much going on we're recording this on Monday Morning by this time next week we have played two fixtures we could be out the cup we could have lost at H the Spurs or we could be absolutely flying smashed them all brought in players looking ahead to the international break with um a lot of kind of uh hope for the rest of the season it just feels like it could be a transformative week either way Charlotte what do you make of it yeah it's massive um I think for all of the sort of criticisms about the start even though as we have said four points from two is not a bad return um it's an opportunity for us to kind of put that all to bed um we have made much of or you know maybe not you specifically Alex but like sort of fans have made much of the fact that we really need in the absence of European football we really need the cups to be an absolute priority this season um and to get as far as we possibly can hopefully win one but as far as we possibly can this is an incred it's a really annoying fixture it's annoying that we got a premier league uh side that is an away game as well but we also will have Sandra Tali back for that fixture I don't know that we'll see him start necessarily but I think we're going to see him uh on the pitch at some point at Forest and and that's really exciting there there is lots to be excited about this week but it is it's a bit of a um it's a bit of a moment for us I think the next seven days to to really prove what we can do in in for the rest of the season we've got a chance to turn an okay start terms of the Four Points into a brilliant start seven points and the next round of the cup you know it is it is a huge huge air and let's not forget Spurs are won four points they've drawn and won against a newly promoted team and and a potential relegation candidate in Everton so you know similar starts it's a really big chance uh and you know we've got a very good record against spars at home but I think the reintroduction of Tali given that the uh The League Cup game's away it means St James has Park will have an extra an extra kind of um motivation to it I think there'll be a really good crowd that day yeah we need to be going into the domestic cups as that's our Europe this season we need to we need to go bold and we need to we need to succeed we need to get past a team like notam Forest they're going to be tricky City ground is a tough place to go but we should have enough for them we if we if we have designs again of being in European competition about winning Silvera way if that's the Ambitions of this football club then we we can't we can't throw that game away we have to go into it like it's like it's you know like it's Milan away again it's we've got to take it incredibly seriously and maybe yeah to see Tali out there I think will will'll give everyone a bit of a boost because it's a big week it's a big week it's exciting you know I'm looking forward to it thanks to S Adam and Charlotte it's been a pleasure pleasure talking to all of you as always and I'll speak to you very soon bye-bye