I’m glad that the EPL and lower league football are back this weekend following the international break for true football fans.
I think that this time the vacation will have benefited Newcastle United, given the ailments that were allegedly sustained while on international duty.
The management staff will have had ample opportunity to carefully examine the mistakes we made in our most recent two games, which we lost to Liverpool at home and Brighton away at the Amex Stadium.
Against Brentford, a significant improvement is necessary, and I’d be amazed if Newcastle didn’t play with the same intensity that won them a spot in the Champions League.
With the apparent rigors of additional fixtures to deal with, I understand Eddie Howe has been aiming to play more possession-based football in our early games.
For us to have any semblance of confidence going into the Champions League match against Milan at the San Siro, I believe that a victory over Brentford is extremely necessary.
After that, we play Sheffield United away at Bramall Lane, which we can win, and then we have a chance to exact “revenge” on Manchester City at Gallowgate in the Carabao/League Cup.
Eddie Howe might be tempted to go with a double-pronged attack to start our game against Brentford, consisting of Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson.
Additionally, I think Sean Longstaff will rejoin the first team.
Any reader of The Mag regularly will be aware of how I felt when Martin Dubravka left for one of our rivals, Manchester United, a little over a year ago.
I believed he was being ungrateful and that his outburst was a reflexive response to being replaced by Nick Pope. The action was unsuccessful.
What I’m about to say might surprise a few people on this board, but Martin Dubravka has been back in the Toon fold for six months.
Martin Dubravka should start in goal for Brentford instead of Nick Pope, in my opinion.
Pope has terrible confidence and makes handling errors on top of his bad footwork and distribution. His recent hand surgery may be to blame for this.
Pope, in my opinion, deserves to take a break, and with Martin Dubravka appearing frequently on the Newcastle United bench, it’s the perfect opportunity for him to ultimately prove himself as a valuable member of the team.
Before he defected to Salford, he was a very well-liked character among his supporters.
We can be a very understanding group when players buckle down and grip the nettle, as Toon fans have repeatedly demonstrated.
I recall Mick Martin having a terrible time at Gallowgate forty years ago. Mick led our club as captain, but he never lost his composure. When he finally made a turn for the better, the loyal gave him the nickname “Zico,” which was most definitely not meant as a jest.
Much more recently, individuals like Joelinton and, to a lesser extent, Jacob Murphy, have displayed exceptional fan-winning abilities.
Martin Dubravka might be given the chance on Saturday to once again show off his skills as a goalie, which would undoubtedly go a long way toward his own personal atonement as one of our Newcastle United’s keepers.