Newcastle v Brighton: The Toon view with NUFCBlog.co.uk

It is a little over two months since we last talked to Olly from NUFCBlog.co.uk before a Brighton v Newcastle United fixture and yet in that time, a lot seems to have happened at St James’ Park.

The Saudi takeover of Newcastle has been banned. Mike Ashley is now suing the Premier League. And in amongst all the drama, Steve Bruce has been quietly building a very good squad who might surprise a lot of people this season.

The Toon Army got off to the perfect start, winning 2-0 at West Ham United last weekend. Can Bruce and his players make it two wins from two when the Albion make the long trip to Tyneside?

We speak to NUFCBlog.co.uk ahead of Newcastle v Brighton to try and find out.

The major story surrounding Newcastle this summer was the failed Saudi takeover bid. Just how disappointed were you and where do you go from here in terms of ownership?
I won’t lie, I was absolutely devastated. It didn’t just represent the chance to take our club forward to new heights, but would’ve brought some much needed investment into the city and north east region.

It was also one of the few positives or exciting stories we had to hold onto over this awful lockdown period, so to be given so much false hope only to be let down again was incredibly deflating.

Where do we go from here? Well, there is at least now a genuine belief that Mike Ashley wants out, with him only really spending this summer to protect his asset by ensuring we have enough to stay up!

That said, he’s now locked in a legal battle with the Premier League over that ‘failed’ Saudi bid. It’s incredibly messy and a never-ending saga, but hopefully it eventually ends well for us!

Whilst all that was going on, Newcastle seem to have been making some very shrewd signings. How happy are you with the new faces?
I was pleasantly surprised and VERY happy with the business we did last week, seeing Callum Wilson complete a £20m move from Bournemouth, Ryan Fraser arrive on a free and Jamal Lewis sign from Norwich City for £15m.

Jeff Hendrick on another free also looks like very good business if his solid displays at Burnley and brilliant debut versus West Ham United are anything to go by.

Wilson is exactly what we needed. Okay, he might not do a Danny Ings and break the 20-goal mark, but he averages one goal every three games at this level, meaning he could be that 13-14 goal striker we lacked badly last season. His movement was brilliant at West Ham last weekend and he comes alive in the box.

The manner of Fraser’s Bournemouth exit was a concern for some, but he’s spoken very well since signing and is a decent coup on a free, with him bagging the second most assists in the Premier League (14) the season before last. He’s a clever little player with bundles of pace and energy and scored on his debut in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.

Jamal Lewis also looked assured at left-back on his debut last weekend. He bombed forward brilliantly for Norwich last season, looks good on the ball and certainly comes highly recommended after Liverpool made moves to sign him earlier this summer.

Is there anywhere else you need to strengthen?
Although we’ve now got Wilson, I would fear for us if he got another bad injury. Andy Carroll is a handful when fit, but history suggests he rarely starts back to back games, not forgetting the fact he hasn’t scored a Premier League goal for 30 months now!

Dwight Gayle is injured for the remainder of the year, Yoshinori Muto has left on loan and Joelinton…well, he just doesn’t look like a striker.

So, another forward is the big one for me – we looked toothless against Blackburn Rovers in midweek without Wilson – and we could also do with another winger, right back and centre back for the same reason. We have a strong side when everyone is fit, but some of our back-up options aren’t really up to it.

What are your expectations for this season?
An interesting question, because this time last year I probably expected nothing other than relegation after Rafa Benitez left and Steve Bruce came in.

Brucey has done a solid job up until now, but the vast majority of 2019-20 was a real struggle where we managed to scrape through via fortunate results, Martin Dubravka heroics, Allan Saint-Maximin magic or surprise goals from centre-backs.

Don’t get me wrong, our spirit and ability to grind out results counts for something, but last season’s performances didn’t feel sustainable.

With that in mind, we need to be better this season to avoid a second season slump under Bruce. We are expecting to be better – Bruce has what he wants in a proven Premier League striker (Wilson), a quality winger (Fraser), an energetic midfielder (Hendrick) and a long-term left back (Lewis) who isn’t just auditioning on loan like Danny Rose or Jeto Willems.

Combine that with the likes of Dubravka, Jamaal Lascelles, Isaac Hayden, Jonjo Shelvey, Miguel Almiron and Saint-Maximin and I don’t think it’s unfair to expect us to be aiming to improve on last season’s 13th place finish.

I still have doubts over Bruce’s tactical nous or ability to deliver the attacking football this side should be capable of, but a team with this much quality in it should be much closer to the top 10 than the relegation zone.

Where do you see Newcastle’s weaknesses? Are there any areas which Graham Potter should look to exploit?
He did nothing to let us down in our 0-2 win at West Ham last weekend, but Karl Darlow is an obvious one given he’s come in for our 2019-20 player of the season Dubravka.

He’s a capable shot stopper on his day, however he can be hesitant off his line, shaky on crosses – corners could be an issue – and hasn’t always got the best handling.

Elsewhere, Lewis and Saint-Maximin’s ability to get forward down our left looks exciting. However, they’ll have to make sure they’re not too gung-ho as I fancy the likes of Tariq Lamptey, Adam Lallana, Leandro Trossard and Neal Maupay to do a bit more damage this time around if they’re given too much space.

What did you make of our two fixtures last season? Low scoring games between the Albion and Newcastle seem to have become the norm since we won promotion together from Championship.
Starting with the 0-0 draw at St James’ Park, I remember being sat wondering how on earth you didn’t score or at least create more chances after totally dominating the possession stats.

I’m sure you had around 70% of the ball and had us camped in our own half for most of it. It perhaps summed you up under Graham Potter that no goal followed from all your slick passing.

The reverse fixture, another 0-0, was a little more even, although I say that because neither team really did enough to deserve a win. It was a classic end of season game where both sides seemed to be wearing their flip flops – not football boots!

Finally, what is the NUFCBlog.co.uk prediction for Newcastle v Brighton?
My heart says our new signings will pick up from where they left off and help us to another win, but my head says you’ll dominate the ball, frustrate us and come away with a draw.

I think we have the firepower to cause you a few problems at the other end – Saint-Maximin vs Lamptey will be a great battle down our left and Carroll up against your giant trio of centre-backs will be one to watch.

I also think you have a bit more about you this time, with Lallana a strong addition, Yves Bissouma improving and Lamptey and Ben White both upgrades on the players you started the 2019/20 season with.

I’ll say a 1-1 draw with Wilson and Maupay getting on the score sheet!

Thanks to Olly from NUFCBlog.co.uk for his insight ahead of Newcastle v Brighton at St James’ Park. You can follow NUFC Blog on Twitter and read all about the Toon on their Newcastle United website.