Following the early season international break, Premier League action resumes this weekend with Newcastle United hosting Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on Sunday afternoon.
The pre-break fixtures saw United collect seven points from a possible nine and advance to the 3rd round of the League Cup. Spurs being the notable scalp with them potentially being top four rivals. Despite positive results, Newcastle were poor performance wise, only really playing well in short spells which have coincided with the lads doing just enough to secure the results. Fast forward two weeks, and after a glittering international break for many of the lads, are whispers of positivity starting to return to Barrack Road after a difficult summer and wobbly start to the new campaign (performance wise)?
Anthony Gordon started both games for England and looked in great shape, especially against Ireland, making multiple, brilliant defence splitting runs and linking up with Trent Alexander-Arnold in the build-up to England’s first goal. He was so unlucky to not get a goal or an assist across both games. If Gareth Southgate wasn’t such a wet wipe and had played Gordon at the Euros, England would be European Champions right now, mark my words. Alexander Isak bagged three goals for Sweden quadrupling his tally for the season. His on-the-ball and off-the-ball running was powerful and intelligent, and he linked up beautifully with Victor Gyokeres. The lad has a hefty release clause at Sporting Lisbon but United could do a lot worse than linking the pair
Sandro Tonali demonstrated his importance to his nation by playing two complete ninety minutes for Italy; this must be repeated at the club level. It seemed as though he hadn’t been off the field for 10 months because of how match-fit he seemed. In addition, he contributed one of the loveliest outside boot flick assists of the season.
For the England U21s, Lewis Hall recorded two assists; the second was a superb interception and tackle before he laid it up for Tom Fellows to score on his debut. Even though the young man is only 20 years old, he should unquestionably start at left defense for Newcastle. Although he isn’t the ideal player defensively, he promises so much in the future that he
Being a member of the Paraguay team that sent Brazil to their fourth loss in their previous five World Cup qualifying matches allowed Miggy Almiron to have a productive international vacation. Miggy had a good game; she ran hard, relieved pressure, and won many fouls. Although Bruno Guimaraes would be frustrated with the outcome, he was a key player in Brazil’s 1-0 victory over Ecuador in their last match.
In addition to scoring his first goal for the England U18 team, Trevan Sanusi demonstrated excellent wing play throughout. Sanusi opened the scoring for his team on the left by cutting in on his right foot and firing a shot into the bottom corner that gave the goalkeeper little opportunity to stop it. The young player has to be kept off the field in first team contests going ahead as a wild card.
Surprisingly, Will Osula played no minutes prior to the international break, although he scored for his country’s U21 team during a loss to Iceland. Osula opened the score with a brilliantly hit effort over the ‘keeper into the far corner from the left side of the penalty area. Never anticipated placing third
In addition to scoring his first goal for the England U18 team, Trevan Sanusi demonstrated excellent wing play throughout. Sanusi opened the scoring for his team on the left by cutting in on his right foot and firing a shot into the bottom corner that gave the goalkeeper little opportunity to stop it. The young player has to be kept off the field in first team contests going ahead as a wild card.
Surprisingly, Will Osula played no minutes prior to the international break, although he scored for his country’s U21 team during a loss to Iceland. Osula scored the first goal from the left side of the penalty area with a skillfully placed shot that went across the goalkeeper and into the far corner. Never anticipated placing third
Odysseas Vlachodimos and Martin Dubravka even preserved two clean sheets for their respective nations as Greece and Slovakia won the Nations League back-to-back. When you include in the call-ups for Tino Livramento and Nick Pope, it has been a very successful two weeks away from Darsley Park for the most of our international call-ups. It was frustrating, though, that neither Tino nor Pope played a minute for England.
Furthermore, good news regarding Joe Willock’s health, the absence of any fresh injuries during the break, and Fabian Schar’s return from a three-game suspension round up what has seemed like an optimistic ten days away.
Unfortunately, a lingering concern remains as to whether the manager will choose some of our returning internationals, as he has shown a
Eddie Howe tends to reward loyalty and good performances, an admirable trait, but the gaffer really needs to show his ruthless streak and start picking a first eleven that will dictate our style of play onto our opponents and not the other way around. Eddie has had the lads play several different ways since his arrival – counter attacking in the immediate aftermath of his appointment, high-pressing throughout 2022/23, and a hybrid system deeply affected by injury last season. We all know which was the most enjoyable to watch and it would be delightful to see the lads put in a really dominant display in the ‘intensity is our identity’ style this weekend and bring our early season league tally to ten points.
As the old football cliché goes – form is transitory, class is forever, and if the class guys can find similar form in Black and White as they have for their countries then we might be in for a positive next phase of the campaign. And with four of the next five away from home before the next international break in mid-October we will need everyone pulling in the same direction.
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