The Good, The Bad, and The Average #34: NUFC player ratings vs. Nottingham Forest (h) [PL26]

Newcastle United put in one of the most unprofessional second-half performances of Eddie Howe's tenure but still emerged 4-3 victors over Nottingham Forest following a first-half blitz at the Gallowgate End.

Turning us around from the kick-off to jeers, our visitors probably wished they'd have just stuck where they were as they went into the interval 4-1 down following goals from Lewis Miley, Jacob Murphy, and Alexander Isak (2).

Those efforts came after a slack bit of play from Murphy had allowed Callum Hudson-Odoi to open the scoring for Forest, though why the hell the restored Nick Pope was standing so far to the left of the goal we'll never understand.

We can't recall leaving St James' after a win as big as this one feeling so deflated, but the lack of composure, nouse, and quality of those in black and white when shooting towards the Leazes was quite incredible to see in the circumstances.

Still, that's a huge three points in the bag, but we still look far from convincing, despite the fact Nuno Espírito Santo's side was well off their top level. Here's how we rated everyone involved in what must have been a cracking watch for the neutrals!

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The Good

Lewis Hall got the Sky Man of the Match award and he was the pick of the bunch for us, too, with his best game since Arsenal away in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final. He assisted the equaliser for Miley, basically got the assist for the second, and put in the cross that Aina handled for our third. He also sent Willock away to set up the fourth and made our only real chance of the second half from a corner, while defending pretty excellently throughout.

In scoring yet another brace, Alexander Isak took his Premier League tally to 50. While his all-round game wasn't as good as it has been at times this season, his flick for our second goal was a thing of beauty. We weren't huge fans of his penalty for the third, but it got the job done, and his decision to shoot first time for the fourth was rewarded with a kind deflection off Murillo, but he didn't have a sniff of goal thereafter.

What a finish that was to equalise from young Lewis Miley, who did his chances of a good run in the side no harm at all this afternoon after a bit of a shaky start. The only blot on his copybook was him switching off for Forest's second, as Nikola Milenković scored from inside his zone on the second phase of a corner.

We also thought Tino Livramento had a good day, though we have to acknowledge that his first-half performance was a lot better than his second. He largely kept the lightning-fast Anthony Elanga under wraps and was very tidy in possession, completing 33/35 passes and making one of our best chances.

Dan Burn had the most Hyde and Jekyll afternoon of the lot, though. We thought he was magnificent before the interval both defensively and on the ball, but he lost his head more than most when we came under pressure after the hour mark. He still did more good than bad and kept Chris Wood incredibly quiet.

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The Bad

After setting us up well and getting us into a commanding lead, Eddie Howe waited too long to make substitutes and it almost cost us very dearly. We were crying out for some fresh impetus before Forest pulled it back to 4-2 and it isn't the first time he's sat on his hands when there's quite clearly been a goal coming for the opposition.

We're not sure about the decision to restore Nick Pope, either. We loved him to bits during the early part of his career here but he just hasn't been the same since that red card at home to Liverpool that caused him to miss the Carabao Cup Final two seasons ago. He was so, so poor on Forest's first and his kicking was woeful.

There's no doubt that Bruno Guimarães is in a bit of a lull at the moment, too, having been one of our best players across the season. Pushed back into the number six role today due to Sandro Tonali's hamstring tweak, he barely impacted the contest and got absolutely no change out of the match officials again either.

Anthony Gordon has had a pretty hit-and-miss season, but today was more miss than hit. While he worked well with Hall and Willock to cause Forest problems down their right side, his end product was really poor and he struggled to get the better of Ola Aina one-on-one. We need a lot more from our number ten.

We were particularly aghast with the showings of both Callum Wilson and Harvey Barnes off the bench. Barnes' attempted headed clearance for Forest's third was pathetic and he looked half asleep otherwise. Wilson's lack of professionalism and total selfishness on those two late breaks was completely unacceptable.

Substitute Sandro Tonali wasn't much better than those two, sadly, but he's probably not 100% fit. He spent the majority of his time on the pitch telling everyone around him to calm down, while exhibiting very little calmness himself in possession. He swept up well at times but can't be losing the ball as much as he does.

What a stinking referee Jarred Gillett is. Can we not send him back to Australia? How he didn't give the handball without the help of VAR is one thing, but how he took so long to overturn the decision is another. He was terrible aside from that, too, showing no consistency at all with what merited a booking and allowing Forest to waste time until their heart was content in the early going.

How we let Nottingham Forest get away from Gallowgate with only a one-goal defeat beggars belief as we ran all over them again here. They got gifted an early lead and seemed determined to throw it away with some really poor play and they were unable to adjust their style even when supposedly chasing the game. Hopefully, the wheels come off for them now because we really should be finishing ahead of them.

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The Average

Jacob Murphy was at his infuriating worst in the early part of the game but came up with yet another big goal, so it's hard to knock him too much. He was at fault for Forest's opener with a very slack bit of play and seemed to give the ball away every time he touched it in some periods but he never gave up trying.

We saw the best and worst of Joe Willock today as well, with some of his trademark driving runs getting us off our seats but then some of his defensive lapses driving us up the wall. He got a very decent assist for Isak's second and dovetailed nicely down the left with Hall and Gordon, giving Forest no end of problems.

Even though we conceded three times, it was hard to pin too much on Fabian Schär's defending. It's his passing we're most concerned about at the minute, as his radar has been off for a good while now. He was another in black and white who mixed a fair bit of good with an equal amount of bad.

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The Breakdown

This was a nightmare to score because we were so good first half and so terrible thereafter.

The XI

Nick Pope – 5

Tino Livramento – 7

Fabian Schär – 6

Dan Burn – 7

Lewis Hall – 9 ⭐️

Lewis Miley – 8

Bruno Guimarães – 5

Joe Willock – 6 (off 70')

Jacob Murphy – 6 (off 70')

Alexander Isak – 8 (off 87')

Anthony Gordon – 5

The Subs

Sandro Tonali – 5 (on 70')

Harvey Barnes – 2 (on 70')

Callum Wilson – 2 (on 87')

The Gaffer

Eddie Howe – 5

The Opposition

Nottingham Forest – 5

The Ref

Jarred Gillett – 3

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The Next

If you thought it couldn't get any worse after our last Premier League away game, you might've forgotten that a midweek 'under the lights' trip to Anfield was on the cards just 11 days later...

While we've been tragic at The Etihad Stadium, we did at least have some good days at Maine Road. Anfield has pretty much been a barren wasteland for us since the 1993/94 season!

Still, there's always a chance. Or, we could just send out an XI to kick lumps out of them ahead of the Carabao Cup Final in a few weeks... (just kidding...)

Howay the lads!