Debate whether Newcastle United are a 'one man team' given some hefty weight by report - but we did not like how it was phrased

There has been debate recently whether Newcastle United are too reliant on Alexander Isak, making the Magpies pretty much a 'one man team'.

Obviously, it's a ridiculous thing to suggest given the quality in the squad, but there's definitely a case to be made to suggest that Newcastle are significantly better with Alexander Isak in the team.

That revelation will come as a shock to precisely nobody, but Football365 have created an interesting alternative Premier League table where they've taken away every club's Premier League points that were won as a direct result of their MVP (Most Valuable Player).

As you might expect, without Isak's goals this campaign, Newcastle would be, as Football365 so eloquently puts it, screwed.

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Newcastle would be 13th in the non-MVP Premier League

Without Isak's 19 goals, Newcastle would be in 13th position in the No-MVPs league, highlighting just how much we rely on his goals. Arsenal would top the table, in case you were wondering.

13) Newcastle: 28 points
Alexander Isak (G19, A5): -16

"We can’t quite work out if it’s ironic or entirely unironic that Newcastle are wholly reliant on Alexander Isak to claim a Champions League qualification spot which may well be the only way they can keep Alexander Isak."

Football365 just couldn't help themselves ... or am I reading too much into it?

It really is an interesting concept that Football365 have created here, but their wording has got my back up on this bright Tuesday morn.

The fact that they have recycled the "Alexander Isak will leave if Newcastle don't secure Champions League football" horseradish, was secondary to what they said at the top of the article:

"Would Liverpool be any good without Mohamed Salah? Would Manchester United be in a relegation battle if Bruno Fernandes didn’t exist? Just how screwed will Newcastle be when Alexander Isak leaves?"

Did you spot it? "When Alexander Isak leaves", not if. Look, we're not daft, we know Isak isn't going to see out his playing career here, but who knows? By the time Isak does leave we'd like to think we've moved far beyond relying solely on him anyway.

I'm probably making more out of that word choice than necessary, but when it was followed up with that sentence about the Champions League there was a definite strong whiff of an agenda.