Craig Hope identifies problem with Newcastle United's attack this season after watching Nick Woltemade against Athletic Club
Newcastle United saw off the challenge of Athletic Club Bilbao at St James' Park on Wednesday night with a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Dan Burn and Joelinton.
For the second game in a row, Nick Woltemade failed to find the back of the net for Newcastle, which, of course, isn't a cause for alarm. But it is a symptom of the Magpies' toothless attack this season.
Goals have been hard to come by for Newcastle, who could have gone on to win by three or four last night on any normal day, but this season, they have really struggled to put teams to the sword, apart from the couple of outliers, where we did manage to bag four goals.
We have noticed quite often how Nick Woltemade doesn't tend to impact games in terms of attacking. His shots per game output is very low for a striker, but this is because he prefers to come deep to receive the ball rather than hang around waiting for it to come to him, and Newcastle are used to having that poacher to aim for, so it's causing a bit of a drought.
Nick Woltemade's style breaks Newcastle United's intensity, says Craig Hope
Craig Hope noticed it last night against Athletic Bilbao and spoke on YouTube about how Woltemade's desire to come deep to collect the ball is negatively affecting how Newcastle play.
"It was quite evident to see from that elevated view that because Woltemade almost plays, you know, exclusively predominantly in and around the halfway line, that then allowed Bilbao to step up and press onto Woltemade.
"In turn, the midfield is denied space. They didn’t show enough control or bite really in the first half. Then, by extension, Newcastle’s defence is pushed back, and they aren’t playing high enough up the pitch.
“That doesn’t allow them to play with that intensity and that press in the face of the opposition as they have done, as has been their identity in recent seasons, and it’s a real issue because Woltemade, you see all of that space. There was loads of space in behind Bilbao and in their half during the opening period, and Newcastle just weren’t populating it.
“Nick Woltemade wasn’t running into there, he was getting the ball and he was losing it at times on the halfway line like he was at West Ham on Sunday. That then, in turn, puts the team under pressure and things break down.”
Could we play Nick Woltemade as a No. 10 behind Yoane Wissa?
Without our intensity, what do we have? It's our high-energy pressing that has got us where we are today.
It now begs the question: Do we adapt to suit Nick Woltemade, or do we force him to change his game to fit? It obviously makes more sense to get one player to change their style of play than to change how the team operates, but there is another question here.
Is it time we changed our shape? Even with our high intensity, we are predictable, and this season it does feel like Premier League teams have got us sussed. When Yoane Wissa returns from injury, we're all expecting him to fit in up front to replace what we lost with Alexander Isak, but where does that leave our most expensive signing?
Is there a way to play both together with Woltemade playing as a 10? He clearly seems better suited to that role with his desire to come deep, and when he's so good at it, it would be a massive shame to beat it out of him.
We're sure these conversations are already being had behind the scenes, but whether anything comes of it, we'll have to wait and see. Our feeling is we'll just mould Nick Woltemade to our style.
