Harvey Barnes reflects on 'special' night at St James' Park as winger's impressive output highlighted
Harvey Barnes has had to be extremely patient since he moved to Newcastle United from Leicester City.
Anthony Gordon has often been Eddie Howe's preferred choice down the left flank, with Barnes drafted in to cover for injuries and suspension.
More recently, however, Barnes has stepped up to become an option down the right flank for Eddie Howe, which has come at the perfect time, given Jacob Murphy's spotty form and Anthony Elanga's absolute lack of form.
Barnes had been dubbed a super sub at times because of the impact he makes when coming off the bench. All too often, he seemed to find it hard to replicate that level of performance when he started games, but there seems to have been a shift of late.
Harvey Barnes looked back on a 'crazy night' at St James' Park
Speaking after the game to NUFC TV last night, Barnes called it a 'special night' and hailed the team's character to keep plugging away despite being behind three times in the game.
"Crazy night, really - delighted now it's done, but that 100 minutes or whatever it was... it was a rollercoaster of a game.
"We had some good moments in the game and some control in parts, and then other parts we probably felt like they were on top. They went ahead in the game.
"But this team's full of spirit and character, and you could feel that we were going to fight our way back. We're delighted with the result in the end. A special night."
Eddie Howe must have to seriously consider his pecking order for wingers
While it was certainly one of Barnes' better games in a black and white shirt, the stats behind his performances are pretty telling.
As Magpie Media have said, he's averaging almost one goal contribution per start for Newcastle.
However, before we get carried away, when you factor in his 41 substitute appearances in the Premier League, it does dramatically water down the stats.
Still, there is a very strong case to be made for him starting ahead of Anthony Gordon lately.
