It has been a start to forget for Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce.
Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas wants Steve Bruce to start Sean Longstaff ahead of either senior trio of Jonjo Shelvey, Ki Seung-yueng or Isaac Hayden.
The above trio started Newcastle’s 3-1 defeat at Norwich City over the weekend, with Longstaff replacing Ki in the second half, but by then the damage was already inflicted by the newly-promoted side.
Midfielder Longstaff rose to fame at the turn of the year under his previous manager Rafa Benitez and it is fair to say he was a surprise exclusion from the starting XI at the weekend.
Speaking on Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports News (17/08/2019 at 5:25 pm), Nicholas was critical of Newcastle’s style of play, their lack of service and their lack of fluency in the middle of the park.
“They didn’t get anything upfront,” Nicholas told Soccer Saturday. “Almiron is again drifting into positions, we know he’s keen to get the ball and drive at people. But hardly gets any service. Same for Joelinton.
“They played Shelvey and Ki in midfield with Hayden. They did have a couple of good chances in the first half, which they didn’t take. They make so little [chances]. There’s no fluency. There’s no rhythm. Longstaff, I would play. He’s a composed boy on the ball. Yes, maybe he’s feeding them back into the fitness levels. But at the back, he tried a back three, but that didn’t work either.
“Big concerns. The fact that Steve came in when he did, with very limited resources, yes he’s added a few numbers, but he needs six games for me to get this shape right.”
Longstaff’s omission wouldn’t have sat well with the Newcastle supporters because he has added extra quality to their midfield and he is also a local boy.
Given the manner of defeat to Norwich, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Bruce make a number of changes for Newcastle’s home clash against Tottenham at the weekend.
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