Newcastle United have momentum again in the chase for Europe but do they have the players?
To the seven first teamers missing for this extraordinary defeat of West Ham, Eddie Howe can add four more who succumbed to injury or suspension on a chaotic, cathartic, season-saving afternoon. The club has since confirmed that Jamaal Lascelles suffered a torn ACL and will now miss up to nine months.
It is a trend that is concerning and confounding Newcastle insiders in equal measure. No team in the Premier League has lost more days to injury this season and there is a real sense of what might have been at the club if they hadn’t played most of this campaign without some of their star men.
An injury review will form part of Newcastle’s end of season debrief but no-one at the club believes there is a smoking gun to explain the problems.
A combination of contact injuries, freak misfortune and general Premier League trends given the demands on players explain a lot of the problems.
Mid-season analysis has been carried out by the club to try and identify any red flags but so far it’s understood the data backs up Howe’s belief that most of the issues are simply down to “bad luck”.
And even in the cases where a deep dive would probably be helpful – like Sven Botman’s ACL injury – conflicting medical advice on his initial muscle tear means there is no straightforward explanation.
It is not for a want of trying or investment. Newcastle are clients of Orreco, a data firm who specialise in bio makers that identify red flags through things like spotting inflammation enzymes in regular pinprick blood tests.
Players are protected, even if they are also expected to meet the demands of Howe’s intense style.
“I’ve never known a season like it,” Anthony Gordon, Newcastle’s dynamic driving force, said after Saturday’s win.
“It’s been crazy with people going off all the time. Every time someone goes down I’m immediately thinking the worst.”
Europe – either through catching Manchester United in fifth or hauling back a dazed West Ham in seventh – remains eminently possible but first they need to think about more practical matters. With three defenders and a goalkeeper ruled out through injury, simply pulling together a squad to face Everton on Tuesday night might be a challenge.
Even Gordon – at the centre of so much of what Newcastle did well once again – wasn’t immune, picking up a late second booking for kicking the ball away that left him somewhat incredulous. It will mean he’s kicking his heels for the visit of his former club in midweek.
“It’s incredible really, to get sent off for tapping a ball five yards,” he told i afterwards.
“I only think he [referee Rob Jones] booked me because he didn’t know he’d booked me already. That’s not good enough to be honest with you.
“I don’t want to complain about referees because they have a job to do. They are the rules so he’s sticking to the rules and laws of the game but it’s ridiculous really.”
That red came after a frantic, famous comeback at St James’ Park, a result of serious significance both for Newcastle and Howe – who has come under some external pressure for failing to address some of his team’s issues.
Instead Harvey Barnes’ brilliant cameo – as opposed to Kalvin Phillips’ disaster class when he came on for West Ham – saved Newcastle’s season and gave Howe much-needed breathing space.
“Beating [West Ham] in this game was a massive start for us because the season probably relied on Saturday’s result,” Gordon said.
“It can be a massive momentum shift for us and them, hopefully. The performance at 3-1 down to show that sort of heart, character and keep doing what we work on was unbelievable. At this point in the season, with where we stand in the league it’s a massive win.”
Struggling Everton would have felt like perfect opponents for Gordon, who left 14 months ago under something of a cloud.
“Missing a game is going to be a killer for me, I just want to keep playing,” he said.
“I don’t want this form and this feeling to go away. It’s going to be difficult watching from the stands but like I said I’m confident in the players around me.
“Obviously playing my old club I feel like I’m in a good place and I’m in good form. I don’t want to miss any games but that game specifically I wanted to play in. I’m confident we’ll still win the game anyway.”
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