Newcastle United find themselves top of at least one Premier League table after the first five games of the 2020/21 season, although it may not be the one they’d wish to be.
Steve Bruce’s side sits top of the official stats for long balls in the league so far, with 335 attempts. Perhaps an understandable feature of the tactics had Andy Carroll featured prominently, however, the 6’5 frontman has only seen 146 minutes of action in five fixtures thus far.
Instead, Bruce has lined up with new arrival Callum Wilson from the start and has proven correct in doing so with the former Bournemouth man grabbing four goals at the start of the season.
With ball-playing midfielders such as Jonjo Shelvey and Miguel Almiron in the ranks, as well as wingers Ryan Fraser and Allan Saint-Maximin, perhaps the Magpies would be better served in keeping the ball on the floor.
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Whilst nobody could argue the Toon haven’t made a reasonable start to the new season, the style of football still leaves a lot to be desired, especially when you consider goalkeeper Karl Darlow has made the most saves in the league.
As the new signings continue to gel, Bruce may adapt his team’s tactical style in time.
Otherwise, should the long-ball trend continue, maybe it’s time to see more of big Andy?
