ST JAMES’ PARK — Can we please call a truce in the Nick Woltemade culture war?
Look, these two things can both be right at the same time: Woltemade’s future at St James’ Park isn’t as a central midfielder but, for the time being, it might be what’s right for the team. Big Nick? Big team player, according to those on the inside at Newcastle.
That might not satisfy the attention seekers looking to turn rage into revenue on social media but in the nuanced world of a strange season at St James’ Park, it’s probably the right solution for now. Woltemade isn’t being ruined by this turn as a number eight and he’s not about to throw a strop about it.
He knows he’s being deployed in a way that is moulding this new, uncertain version of Newcastle into a more potent pressing force for now, while also attempting to utilise some of his gifts without the benefit of time on the training pitch.
It’s a difficult argument to make on a Wednesday morning after what even Eddie Howe admitted was his weakest game in his new role. “The least he’s affected the game in midfield” was the manager’s honest verdict after a 3-2 win over Qarabag that was frayed at the edges.
There were moments for Woltemade, of course. There always is with a player with his unique skillset and his wonderful roll and pass for Jacob Murphy in the first half – teeing the winger up for a chance he narrowly screwed wide – was the sort of thing that no other player on the pitch could do. But overall the game passed him by, which is why the pitchforks were out post-match.
I get that. The danger of deploying Woltemade deep is forgetting what a brilliant, instinctive finisher he is. The start of the week might have been dominated by talk of Benjamin Sesko coming good but let’s not forget that he still has three goals fewer that Woltemade, who was signed to lead the line for a team shaken to its core by the loss of talisman Alexander Isak.
Let’s also give Howe some credit here. Newcastle were in danger of heading into cracked badge territory after losing to Brentford ago but he dug deep, shifted things around and found a solution. For the time being, that means an attack configured around the energy of Anthony Gordon or the unpredictability of the still raw Will Osula.
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And you know what: it seems to be working. Newcastle have won four of their last five games (the sole defeat a perhaps undeserved reverse against Manchester City) and are collecting momentum ahead of a run of decisive Premier League fixtures.
After these three – Everton and Manchester United at home before a trip to Chelsea – they have only two teams in the top half of the table left to play. One of those is Fulham, who sit 10th.
So there’s a chance here. The Champions League draw could pair them with Liam Rosenior’s inconsistent Blues and they would have more than a puncher’s chance there. Having rocked Manchester City last week, they should harbour no inferiority complex when Pep Guardiola’s side visit in the FA Cup on Saturday week. Their run-in is fairly kind.
That is now the priority for Newcastle, who need to make the Champions League an annual jaunt from a revenue as well as competitive standpoint. Unpopular opinion maybe, but perhaps the big conclusions on Woltemade should wait.
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