Newcastle seem to be having an absolutely strange season so far. Somehow, the club are at a respectable thirteenth position, just ten points off fourth placed Tottenham, despite having a string of lackluster performances on the pitch.
Many have simply interpreted other teams also underperforming horrendously as the reason for the club being so high in the league. Of course, it must be said that the Magpies do look alright in certain departments, especially defence, where they have shown massive improvement.
Indeed, when Steve Bruce was brought in to replace departing manager Rafa Benitez, reports suggested an exodus of players as a form of protest against owner Mike Ashley. Instead, Bruce now commands a level of begrudging respect from even his detractors.
There is however, a sense of unease when it comes to Newcastle’s attack, as it has seemed lethargic and sluggish on a majority of occasions.
Special focus must be given on their strikers’ profligacy, in large part owed to the horrendous performance of the Magpies’ $52 million dud Joelinton.
Now, a graphic released by football broadcaster Sky Sports has put into stark contrast exactly how abysmal their attack is.
As shown in the picture, the Geordie club is shown to be dead last in almost all of the absolutely crucial aspects of attacking football throughout this season in the league.
This includes number of shots attempted, number of expected goals, number of touches in the opposition’s box and amount of possession of the ball in a game.
The only metric where they aren’t bottom of the table is in goals scored, where they are tied with relegation zone teams Norwich City and Watford. Even in that aspect, only fourteenth placed Crystal Palace has done worse with twenty three goals.
Yes, some credit on them even being as high as thirteenth must go to the relatively solid backline that Newcastle possess. Even then, without some urgent changes to their attacking play, it doesn’t look good for the club’s immediate future.
