As Alexander Isak hit the deck for the third time in around as many minutes, you knew the striker’s afternoon was over before it really began in the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace. The Swede had taken a nasty knock to the hip while colliding with Tyrick Mitchell in early stages at Selhurst Park and in the 22nd minute was taking his seat on the bench among the substitutes.
Despite having two centre-forwards to choose from as his replacement, Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe went with neither. Instead, Harvey Barnes was brought on in an unfamiliar role on the right, while Anthony Gordon again found himself shuffled into a new role, this time through the middle.
£39m man Barnes is the Magpies’ joint top scorer in the league this term but has found the net just once since late September. Usually deployed on his favoured left flank, the former Leicester City man had to try and impact the game from the opposite side of the pitch down in the capital.
Taking a look at Newcastle’s attacking statistics from their trip and it’s clear to see Howe’s early change didn’t pay off. One shot, off target, and only a Marc Guehi own goal to celebrate. It is now three successive halves of football since the Magpies last had a shot on target.
Callum Wilson was eventually called upon in the second-half but is, naturally, still getting up to speed after such a lengthy period on the sidelines, while for William Osula it was another afternoon spent warming the bench for the 21-year-old. Many were calling for either central striker to be drafted in midway through the first-half but a lack of fitness and a lack of experience, respectively, were the reasons Howe opted for Barnes.
The truth is there is an argument to suggest it was the most logical call from the Newcastle boss given the situations of the two aforementioned forwards – which just shows the predicament the club find themselves in.
“It was a difficult one for Callum today. Obviously, he has minimal training time and I have to be really, really careful I don’t push him and lose him,” Howe said at full-time. “So I didn’t feel bringing him on at that stage with the minutes we had left of the game was something I could do. The plan pre-game was 20 to 30 minutes as it was against West Ham.
“So I decided to put Anthony up there who has done a really good job when he’s gone up there for us previously and I thought he did well today. The lack of goalscoring opportunities is not on him. It’s on the team and we need to do better.”
Osula has played just 10 minutes of Premier League football as a Newcastle player but has looked impressive when given a chance in cup and non-competitive action. The youngster was always signed as a player for the future but with his side enduring a tricky spell in front of goal, they could really do with a fit and firing forward for the here and now.
“I think there’s always a process a player has to go through, especially when they sign, as in Will’s case, so young with a lot of work ahead of him to get to be the player that he eventually wants to be,” Howe said of Osula on Friday. “But he’s really committed to that work. I have to say he’s been excellent. He’s really embraced the coaching side of our work.”
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