Matthias Jaissle warned the optimistic Newcastle United fans of “bumps in the road” while our team were winning three matches and drawing the other two at the start of his reign. He wasn’t wrong.
What I’m wondering now is how much damage was inflicted at Elland Road on Monday night. Did Newcastle United merely suffer a slight jolt after hitting a sleeping policeman?
Or was it a head-on collision with a full-pelt William Henry Foulke, the legendary keeper who weighed about 22 stones (140kg) and was known universally as Fatty?
In this woke age, more than 100 years after Fatty was in his prime, such nicknames are frowned upon. You can’t call a spade a spade without careful consideration. Not that his sobriquet bothered 6ft 3in Mr Foulke, who said in response to the terrace chants: “I don’t mind what they call me as long as they don’t call me late for my lunch.”
Just as there’s no question Fatty was a trencherman, there’s no disputing a 4-1 scoreline. What can be debated are the reasons for such a setback, which I believe can be traced to last year.
The departure of the Swedish striker greatly reduced Newcastle United’s ability to avoid defeat when they were under the cosh for long spells. Elite strikers are expensive because they can, when on-song, become a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Results and performances declined after his exit. The subsequent sale of Gordon, Tonali and Guimaraes, three players battle hardened in the Premier League, cut the age profile of the squad. That can be a positive. It can also, of course, be a negative.
With Trippier off to Wolves when his contract expired and Targett joining Hull, there were plenty of situations vacant. Those have been filled almost entirely by players with no Premier League experience. Some of the recent recruits have little experience full stop.
The men in charge of the rebuild at St James’ Park (figuratively, not literally; news on the stadium is still awaited) decided to go for youthful promise. That seemed a reasonable, albeit risky, decision. With Pope ready to step back in if one of the new keepers was injured, with Livramento, Hall, Schar, Burn, Thiaw and Botman in defence, we looked capable of keeping clean sheets.
Looks are often deceptive, however. Burn was injured in training, days before the Premier League season kicked off. Livramento was not match-fit; neither was Schar. Dedic was straight into a defence that in essence picked itself. A settled back four can be a wonderful asset . . . when all four are on form.
They also needed to learn how Hornicek played. He, meanwhile, was learning all about England after seven seasons in Portugal. Different countries, different leagues, different challenges.
Ideally, a team will be a blend of youthful exuberance and wily experience. A fit and firing Joelinton would have been a big asset at Elland Road, where Miley and Steur looked lightweight and undercooked against the massed ranks of midfielders running at them. BDB would, I reckon, have relished a battle with the, ahem, robust Calvert-Lewin.
Ramsey would have done a job, too. He must dread trips to Leeds. Last season was undermined by a nasty tackle from Longstaff. This time he injured himself in the warm-up.
Once Gonzalez was poleaxed by an early deflected shot — on a night there were more deflections than the Pinball Wizard managed in Tommy — Leeds smelled blood.
Difficult though it might be to believe, Newcastle United played with a modicum of control until Gonzo was forced off. Even the biased Sky commentary said as much, so it must be true. Wissa and Fernandez-Pardo caused early problems with their pace, though there were also some worrying signs.
Barnes and Murphy were peripheral figures. Barnes has made nearly 400 senior appearances, the majority in the Premier League. His best asset by far is his finishing. Murphy has made even more, though proportionately fewer in the top flight. He’s a late developer and a relative rarity: a right-footed right winger whose first-time crosses can be dynamite. Between them, they have probably played as many Premier League matches as the rest of the team combined.
What neither man did against Leeds was put in the hard yards to support the overworked Hall and Dedic, who were trying to quell not only wide forwards but wing-backs seemingly powered by Duracell (other batteries are available). If you cannot rely on two seasoned campaigners to give 100%, you have a worrying problem.
I’m not privy to the statistics on how far each team ran at Elland Road but I’m willing to wager the hosts were miles ahead. They continually seemed to have a spare man in space. Perhaps that’s what Jaissle meant with his reference to “not doing the basics”.
The manager also said in a blunt post-match interview that none of the seven injured players was likely to be ready to face Hull City on Saturday. The absentees will definitely include Elanga, who was kick-starting his black-and-white career this season until stricken by an unspecified injury. Rotten luck for the flying forward, who now faces an MRI scan to determine the severity of the training ground setback.
BBC online coverage reckoned we played a 4-2-3-1 formation, while Leeds were apparently 3-5-2. For what it’s worth, I believe MFP, starting in the Premier League for the first time, played as a twin striker with Wissa. Understandably, they didn’t gel. What I cannot fault is their effort.
We have seen enough of William Osula to know he relishes a scrap. He also has that X-factor capable of turning a match. The sooner he recovers, the better.
Leeds and Hull have almost identical records after four league games. Presuming the Tigers watched last night, they will know what to do at SJP: run hard, tackle hard, play on the front foot and try to batter United.
If they sit back as Spurs did and give us the time to play we apparently need, we can look forward with optimism to the three-week international break.
If the visitors from East Yorkshire imitate their cousins from the West Riding, all bets are off.
There’s an old saying that you must earn the right to play. We didn’t earn much at Elland Road, bar a late, late goal from Toure. I would start him against Hull. I would also start Willock, who looks more up for the fight than Barnes and Murphy. If Schar is ready, he should replace Botman. As for the newbies, give Aladji Bamba a game, because Sean Steur is unlikely to find the space to express himself against unbeaten opponents.
Whatever happens, I’ll be in the Leazes End after an overnight Flixbus from London that is due to arrive at 05.05 hours. Can anyone recommend a decent spot for breakfast? I reckon my appetite will match Fatty Foulke’s . . .