Jason Tindall made a huge call last night with Newcastle United five goals to the good and brought battling midfielder Joelinton off the pitch.
It was just past the hour mark when Jason Tindall opted to withdraw Joelinton and Jacob Murphy, much to the former's disgust.
Joelinton was clearly not happy with the decision as he chuntered and shook his head as he exited the pitch, but it was a good call by Tindall.
The Brazilian was one booking away from serving a two-match ban, and the way the Palace players were getting stuck in, there was every chance that the red mist could have descended on Joey and he could have found himself in trouble.
We're sure that even Joelinton knew it was the right call, but he was clearly enjoying himself and didn't want to come off.
Jason Tindall was asked by The Northern Echo about Joelinton managing to keep his powder dry for so long and avoiding the ban, and hinted at what we can expect in the last few games.
“It just goes to show he can do it. Of course, that was always in the back of our mind, hence we’ve brought him off in the last two games probably earlier than he normally would come off.
“It’s testament to Joe because it’s difficult when you’re such a physical player like he is to go that long without receiving a booking. That’s difficult, but credit to him, and thankfully we’ve now avoided that deadline and Joe is free to be Joelinton.”
Joelinton being free to be Joelinton is bad news for our upcoming opponents, as if there's nothing holding him back, he's going to really get stuck in to try and force the issue of getting Newcastle back on the front foot.
He's not completely out of the woods yet, as 15 yellow cards in a season results in a three-match ban; he's on nine, and there are six games left, so a card a game would see him start next season with a three-game ban.
Avoiding a yellow card in one game out of six should be easily enough done, though. GET INTO 'EM, JOEY!
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
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36 | 46 | 83 |
2 |
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36 | 33 | 68 |
3 |
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36 | 23 | 66 |
4 |
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36 | 24 | 65 |
5 |
![]() |
36 | 19 | 63 |
6 |
![]() |
36 | 7 | 63 |
7 |
![]() |
36 | 12 | 62 |
8 |
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36 | 10 | 55 |
9 |
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36 | 3 | 55 |
10 |
![]() |
36 | 12 | 53 |
11 |
![]() |
36 | 1 | 51 |
12 |
![]() |
36 | -2 | 49 |
13 |
![]() |
36 | -5 | 42 |
14 |
![]() |
36 | -13 | 41 |
15 |
![]() |
36 | -17 | 40 |
16 |
![]() |
36 | -11 | 39 |
17 |
![]() |
36 | 4 | 38 |
18 |
![]() |
36 | -42 | 22 |
19 |
![]() |
36 | -47 | 22 |
20 |
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36 | -57 | 12 |