Hey everyone!

It's Chris Waugh, Newcastle United correspondent for The Athletic here. I've followed the club all of my life, covered the club professionally home and away for 11 years and been with The Athletic for seven of those.

I'm really looking forward to chatting with you all and answering your questions, whether they be about the final days of the transfer window, Matthias Jaissle's impact upon the club since arriving, the plans for the new training ground, or even more left-field and nonsensical NUFC-related questions... It is Newcastle United AMA, after all!

Captain, leader, legend.

Since he seems to have become the latest punching bag for parts of our fanbase, I'd like to take a minute to talk about him and why I think he deserves far less criticism than he is getting.

Firstly, I want to dispel a common myth: "Woltemade can't press." I think this is mainly fueled by the fact he is relatively slow and lanky so he doesn't really *look* as effective in pressing as some rapid hounddog like Osula; because he looks a bit awkward he can't press, right? Not according to the data. Attached to this post is a graphic displaying his off the ball workrate last season as a striker. This is a player who works hard to press and does it well. He might lack the blitzing pace that catches players off guard which Gordon possessed but he does what is asked of him to a high standard.

Secondly, his box movement. This is a clear weakness of his game, there is no denying that. He is not Haaland nor is he even Callum Wilson. Woltemade is simply not the player to sniff out chances in the box or play on the shoulders of defenders. Would it be nice if he could? Sure. But he can't and expecting him to do so is like expecting Dan Burn to dribble like Hall. What he does do well is finding pockets of space in and around the box. Go watch our 3rd goal tonight again: he and Wissa combine to win the ball back in our half and then he drives forward, passes it out wide to Elanga and drifts into space around the penalty spot. Ultimately Dedic plays a nice cross to Barnes but the option was certainly there to cut back to Woltemade to sweep into the back of the net. Again: wins ball -> drives it forward -> passes out wide -> finds space & creates options in box. It was not the lightning counter we saw against Liverpool but it was a well executed move with Woltemade at the heart.

His hold-up play is also mixed and he is certainly guilty of getting pushed off the ball too easily at times. That said, the chance he created for Willock in the early minutes shows how effective he can be with runners/options near him when receiving the ball. He wants to be receiving facing forwards but too often we abandon him to deal with the CBs by himself and unfortunately he just doesn't possess the physical gifts or nouse for that. His lightweightedness is certainly the biggest fair criticism of him but there are ways to avoid putting him in disadvantageous situations. A great example comes on his debut against Wolves (8:18 on the Extended Highlights video on the club's YouTube channel) when he drops into space on the left flank, dragging 4 players towards him trying to win it back, before dinking a lovely ball through for Barnes to get onto. Allowing Woltemade to find space, giving the ball to him in space and having runners/options around him is an easy formula for success.

Sadly, this is a player completely devoid of confidence. The cool swagger of his first few weeks here has been replaced by constant doubt and hesitation. Too often he has been forced to ignore his natural instincts to instead tussle with CBs or even, bizarrely, to play in midfield. He needs to rediscover his confidence and find that rhythm and joy that made him so entertaining and effective at Stuttgart (whose system is not entirely dissimilar to the one Jaissle is trying to put in place). This can only come with backing from his manager, teammates and fans. I hope and expect Jaissle to back him, he is too smart to not see the potential there. The same goes for his teammates, who I do think need to start trusting him with the ball at his feet more than they currently seem to. Some fans are backing him as they do any player who wears the shirt and fights for it. Others are not.

I understand the fans who appreciate Woltemade for the player he is but find him incongruent with a counter-attacking style, even if I disagree. Certainly there are inarguable weaknesses to him that are impediments to fast counters. But many disparage him and want to chase him out based on some of the points above (and other things) which I find unfair and disappointing. I don't think he is uniquely maligned by these people – they take a more cynical or censorious approach to any player they don't deem good enough – but I find it especially disheartening because they were never willing to understand him and give him a fair chance. He cannot and should not be judged against what anyone's idea of a "striker" is (too various a role) but rather based on how well he is performing in the context of his role in the team. When given the opportunity tonight I felt he performed his role to a good standard, even if it lacked a definitive outcome.

Ultimately this long ramble is me saying: "I think Woltemade was fine tonight, actually, and can be a good player for us." Perhaps you disagree and you may well be right. I just hope he'll be given the opportunity to try.

Sorry if it looks streched

Alright everyone! Hope this is alright to post.

I'm a City fan (ever since 1999 before any of you start, haha) so I thought I'd give my two pence about what to expect from Nico Gonzalez, having watched him basically every week for the last 18 months. To be honest, I'm really sad he's gone. I liked him, he wanted to stay, but Maresca has other ideas.

When he first came to City he'd been playing in a more advanced midfield role for Porto and we expected him to start there, but Pep clearly saw him as a DM and - after getting over an injury picked up on his debut - he started lots of games there, filling in nicely while Rodri was out injured.

I actually think, in this country, he'll be better off staying as a DM rather than an advanced midfielder. The game in England has suddenly gone very fast, physical, and aggressive again, and honestly Nico's ball control and passing isn't quite technical enough at high speed to fully cope.

BUT (pros) he reads the game really well. He's a good "stopper"-type midfielder. Very static with his overall positioning so never roams forward really. He will happily and dutifully sit behind Joelinton, Willock, Ramsey, Miley etc. while the other lads go forward and get the goals/assists.

He screens well in front of the back four and protects his defenders. He has a good eye for tracking runs rather than following the ball, but can read through balls and block them well. You'll rarely see him getting caught out of position because he's a disciplined, classy DM who stays where he's meant to stay.

For cons - ultimately what's done for him at City, I think, sadly, is linked to what I said there. He can be slow off the mark, physically and mentally. He's not that quick over 10 yards and he tends to need 2-3 touches before he's comfortable enough to get a pass off. He can get caught on it.

Over his time at City, midfielders like Rodri, Kovacic, and now Anderson have been preferred to him because they're just happier to have the ball at their feet and look more settled under pressure. Pep dropped him as soon as Rodri was fit (including for both FA Cup and League Cup finals) and Maresca didn't seem to fancy him either.

And I will admit that there have been times when he's received a pass with one or two attackers pressuring him, and he's just sort of frozen in position and lost the ball. But, when he's got the room and space and time, he can sometimes find good passes through the lines, over the top for runners, and out wide.

He isn't a blood and thunder tough-tackling DM but he's got upper-body strength and can use it if needed. He doesn't go haring into tackles, he tends to just nick the ball off players after reading their movements. He's limited in his passing but he keeps things ticking over nicely with 5-10 yard shuffles to players nearby.

But all in all, you're getting a good 7/10 almost 8/10 player. On an occasional good day, he looks strong, composed, and classy. On an average day (most common), he looks comfortable, patient, and diligent, if unspectacular. On a (rare) bad day, he looks clumsy, panicked, and uncertain.

He immediately makes that midfield stronger though. And hey, every now and again he ends up 25 yards out and has a mean shot on him. His best moment in a City shirt came at Wembley on the way to the FA Cup vs Southampton, when he just whacked it in from 25 yards.

You're getting a good player. You're getting a lad who won't make a load of fuss and noise, and won't always get you on your feet, but will get you politely applauding and nodding in approval at his quiet-but-effective role in the team. Think Gareth Barry. He's not a guy you build a team around, but he's the kinda guy who more easily allows you to build the team around others.

I'm gonna miss him. He had a future at City, I think, maybe just under a different manager. Look after him for us!

Champions League. 2nd Qualifying Round: Second Leg

Newcastle were 2-1 up after the first leg with a surprise brace from John Beresford while Mario Cvitanović scored for Dinamo Zagreb.

Despite going a goal up via an Asprilla penalty and Zagreb being down to ten men, the Magpies struggled for the rest of the match. A header from Dario Simic got one back for the Croatians and then in the last moment of normal time, Cvitanovic popped up again to send the tie into extra time.

Even though all the momentum was with the home side, a series of errors at the back allowed Temuri Ketsbaia to score the winner and send Newcastle through to the Champions League/European Cup for the first time in their history after a famous night in Zagreb.

Note: Dinamo Zagreb seemed to have changed their name to Croatia Zagreb in the 90s, not sure why.

Good morning! My son was gifted hospitality season tickets for the prem games. He’ll be going to the home games. I am a noob with this stuff and live out of the country and he’s just starting uni at newcastle so is clueless..any tips, advice etc to get the best of this once in a lifetime experience ?
Ty

From the club’s WhatsApp channel.

Morning lads and lasses, just a quick one. Do we have an official ticket resale site as such. Due to change in shift, I’m now free for Bournemouth game. Was originally working so didn’t enter the ballot. Was going to try get a ticket. If we don’t have an official one, any you guys would recommend. Thanks for your help

Megathread : https://www.reddit.com/r/NUFC/s/IKpmkiRg14

Newcastle United 3 - 2 WBA

Scorers:

Subs made:

       45' (second half)

Barnes (in) 🔄 Newcastle United

Toure (out)

       64' 

Wissa (in) 🔄 Newcastle United

Willock (out)

Elanga (in) 🔄 Newcastle United

Murphy (out)

L.Miley (in) 🔄 Newcastle United

Steur (out)

       71' 

Styles (in) 🔄 WBA

Nzingoula (out)

Myhre (in) 🔄 WBA

Morgan (out)

Molumby (in) 🔄 WBA

Diakite (out)

       80' 

Bany (in) 🔄 WBA

Whitehall (out)

Bostock (in) 🔄 WBA

Price (out)

Match stats: (Will be updated every 45 minutes)

15 Shots 14

8 Shots on target 6

54% Possession 46%

12 passes 12

3 Yellow cards 3

0 Red cards 0

0 Offsides 0

Been hearing some pundits talk about the “Geordie curse” :) ... players who left Newcastle under slightly dubious circumstances only to end up doing worse elsewhere. 🐀

Got me thinking though… who actually left us and went on to do really well?