- Toon has been let down by poor recruitment and was toothless on Saturday
- Gordon was the last man to improve the first XI – and he joined in January 2023
- LISTEN NOW: It all starts!available wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Monday and Thursday
If you live and die by your recruitment, Newcastle United will learn that getting it wrong can leave you gasping for air.
Four without a win in the Premier League, no goals from open play in almost seven hours and the feeling that Eddie Howe’s best XI are weaker than they were two years ago.
Key players like Kieran Trippier and Callum Wilson have aged and are increasingly absent, while others like Fabian Schar and Dan Burn are good performers but turn 33 this season.
There hasn’t been the innovation and improvement needed when it comes to trading – and that’s why Howe faces a huge challenge in boosting a team that has become a bit stale.
Take Saturday. They were brilliant for 35 minutes but failed to score because they had a striker in Alexander Isak who was rusty and spurned two glorious chances on his return from injury. Why wasn’t a more reliable replacement signed? Meanwhile, they tried on the right wing first with Jacob Murphy and later with Miguel Almiron. Apparently the quality is not there.
Newcastle are paying the price for poor recruitment with their profligacy in front of goal
Why hasn’t a competent backup been signed to support Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson?
Anthony Gordon is the latest signing to really strengthen the team, signing in January 2023
Four players who arrived in the summer of last year for a total of £150m have failed to improve the first XI and this was evident in the 1-0 defeat to Brighton
The four players signed for £150m in the summer of 2023 were all there, but have Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes, Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall improved the starting XI? Not yet.
January marks two years since Anthony Gordon arrived and was the last player to really improve the level of the team. Forget PSR, you just have to be smarter. Newcastle didn’t look at the ball and the result is this: they can’t put the ball in the back of the net now.
After Brighton took the lead after 35 minutes through the excellent Danny Welbeck, Newcastle’s confident start slowly fizzled out. There was little belief on the pitch and in the stands that they would salvage a point in the final half hour, and that seemed implausible after the aggression and attacking intent of the opening period.
When Manchester City fall behind at home, it inspires them. Newcastle lacked inspiration after their setback and, to make the point more broadly, this feels like a club in need of some galvanisation. The squad needs an injection of new life – and to revisit the mantra at the top: recruitment is the best way to revive.