Down the pub on Saturday night, I watched a depleted Newcastle United do a number on Chelsea.
It was a most impressive performance, defending from the front, with Ramsdale making only three saves in 100 minutes, including stoppage time.
I would have called it Slottage time, except that the Premier League’s specialists in scoring late winners have hilariously morphed into a team capable of throwing away points with equal alacrity.
How I laughed when Spurs equalised at Anfield yesterday in the 90th minute.
In a masterful post-match interview, Szoboszlai claimed not to have heard the chorus of boos that greeted the final whistle, even though he played the entire match.
As Paul Simon wrote more than 50 years ago:
“Honesty, honesty.
It’s such a waste of energy.”
Funnily enough, one thing Liverpool lack under their current manager is the energy that typified them when Klopp was at the wheel. Perhaps that explains Szoboszlai’s inability to notice the unhappiness among the fans. You know, those tens of thousands who support their team through thick and . . .
Anyway, back to Newcastle United’s win at Stamford Bridge. There was so much to admire, beginning with the starting line-up and formation.
It was a fluid, fast-changing set-up that, more or less, nullified opponents who had scored in their past 18 home matches dating back to the end of August. None of Ramsdale’s saves was a worldie.
On paper we were lining up in the familiar 4-3-3 but reality didn’t reflect the theory. Gordon produced one of the best performances from a lone striker I have seen in many a long year. He refused to let defenders or keeper settle, he raced back to help his teammates umpteen times and he put in one superb interception just as James was about to pull the trigger.
All this from a player who was unable to start in midweek after spending three days on the sick bed, a player whose normal role is supporting a centre-forward, not imitating one.
His play reminded me of Ian Wright’s selfless work for England at the Stadio Olimpico in October 1997. Wright didn’t score that night against Italy, nobody did, but he ran himself to a standstill in helping Hoddle’s team secure qualification for France 98.
The defeat of Chelsea was a triumph of teamwork and tactics. Murphy and Barnes, nominally wide attackers, often dropped deeper and narrower to flood the midfield and force their opponents towards the touchlines in search of space. Livramento and Hall, two of the eight English starters in our line-up, showed why they should be part of the watching Tuchel’s World Cup party.
When we overwhelmed Liverpool to claim the League Cup exactly 365 days ago, a lot of pundits suggested that in Joelinton, Bruno G and Tonali we had the Premier League’s best midfield trio.
For once, I tended to agree with the highly paid “experts”, who as per normal were falling over themselves to echo each other. I believe we are a match for anyone with those three aces on top form.
Without them, however, where would that leave Eddie Howe’s Black and White Army?
Because of Bruno’s long-term injury, Tonali’s short-term sickness and Joelinton’s desperate need for a rest after his exhausting efforts against Barcelona, the manager had to think out of the box.
Anyone who says that’s beyond his ken is as wide of the mark as Palmer’s hopelessly sliced shot in the first half.
Howe had to decide who was capable of starting, about 92 hours after the Champions League encounter ended? Who needed to be held back, with the return game at Camp Nou only 96 hours away? And who was capable of securing a priceless three points at a ground where we had managed that only once in 30 Premier League matches?
Step forward, Eddie’s unlikely heroes. They played with determination and resolve, qualities we now take for granted but qualities that fans of other clubs find sadly lacking in their favourites.
Unlikely hero No1 was Joe Willock. His career at St James’ Park, initially while on loan from Arsenal, started slowly but burst into life once the Cabbage belatedly selected him. Ickle Joe was invaluable in saving the club from relegation in 2020/21. Eight goals from 14 appearances, including three as a sub, between February and May was a staggering feat by a midfielder in a struggling team.
Only a fool would have expected that to be the norm. His time at United since has been one step forward, two back, repeatedly derailed by injury. Signed for £25m in August 2021, a week before his 22nd birthday, Willock has scored a further six league goals in nearly five seasons. Two in his first full season, three in his second, one in 2023/24. No league goals since February 2024. From a total of 78 starts and 48 sub appearances since his transfer became permanent.
The lack of goals has prompted some fans to demand he be sold. Perceptive comments such as “waste of a shirt” are not uncommon among supporters I know. They’ve been saying this for at least 18 months.
Willock is 26 and should be at his peak for the next three or four seasons. Thank goodness his manager appreciates the Londoner’s qualities.
Because athleticism is his greatest asset, the enforced absences have been little short of a tragedy. Is there a quicker central midfielder Howe can select? Not in my book.
He proved it again on Saturday when he raced clear of James, held him off and played an astute ball to Gordon for the only goal.
Opportunity has knocked in recent months because of the captain’s severe hamstring tear. Willock has seized the unexpected opening impressively.
Just as effective in the boiler room at Stamford Bridge was Jacob Ramsey, whose first campaign at St James’ Park has turned into a microcosm of Willock’s five years. A bad tackle by Sean Longstaff at Elland Road curtailed Ramsey’s first start on August 30. He didn’t make his second until facing Benfica in the Champions League on October 21.
The absurd second yellow card and dismissal against Manchester United 12 days ago interrupted his two-games-a-week schedule but it was probably a blessing in disguise. Suspended for the FA Cup tie against Manchester City, he returned to the starting team when Barca rolled into town. Ramsey’s all-action display was one reason we were the better team on the night.
So far, he has made 10 starts and 10 as a sub in the Premier League, four starts in the League Cup, two in the FA Cup and three starts in the Champions League, plus five as a sub.
He will turn 25 two days before the final in Budapest of Uefa’s principal club tournament. Eddie Howe said in the aftermath of the Barcelona penalty that football is not a place for romantic stories. For once, I hope the manager has to eat his words.
Simon Ritter
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