Alan Shearer didn’t mince his words after the full-time whistle yesterday, posting on X that we ‘offered nothing up front at all’ and were ‘miles off it’ in an ‘awful’ derby display at Sunderland.
We were pitiful in yet another dismal away performance, this time against our North East rivals, as they secured bragging rights and moved four points ahead of us in the Premier League.
Speaking about our issues in more depth on the Rest Is Football podcast, Shearer asked one big question of Eddie Howe’s Newcastle: where has the energy, intensity and pressing gone?
All of these things have been absent far too often this season, and our former No 9 fears that Woltemade’s lack of pace or energy is limiting our ability to press from the front and go after teams.
“It is a difficult problem that Newcastle have with him. Technically very good, ball at his feet very good, albeit he wasn’t today. But he does pose a problem for Newcastle because he can’t press.
“Everything about Newcastle’s success over the recent years that Eddie’s brought into it is about energy, high press, not letting the opposition play.
“Did you see us today? Sat back, 4-5-1, no pressure on the ball, nothing. And that’s a bit of a problem for Newcastle because he [Woltemade] hasn’t got great energy. He’s not quick. He’s got other strengths that he brings. But everything about Newcastle’s success hasn’t been about that.
“It’s been about energy and about high press. And he can’t do that. And that’s one of the reasons, I’m not saying it’s the full reason, but that’s one of the reasons why Newcastle have struggled away from home.”
I take Shearer’s point to a degree, as Woltemade is a very different profile to Alexander Isak and limits our ability to play that same fast-paced style.
However, I don’t think Woltemade is THE problem in this department, especially when it was his pressing that won us a penalty in the Champions League at Leverkusen last week.
It’s a collective effort and our all round energy levels as a team haven’t been good enough, with Howe’s set up and approach also holding us back in games we should be looking to control or impose ourselves in given our superior quality.
Intensity and pressing was absent on Sunday, but sitting deep and hoping to steal a goal on the break put us on the back foot immediately.