The Newcastle United transfer Eddie Howe can’t sanction as Paul Mitchell spotted ahead of huge week
The 1-1 draw at AFC Bournemouth on Sunday afternoon was arguably a fair result, though the home side were understandable miffed when Dango Ouattara’s winner was ruled out for a handall deep into stoppage time.
By the letter of the law, it was the correct decision but there’s no denying it was soft. Even Magpies’ boss Eddie Howe was left surprised by VAR’s intervention, although it was more than welcomed. Here’s a look at our writer Jordan Cronin’s key talking points from the Bournemouth draw:
Howe made two changes from the opening day win over Southampton with Emil Krafth coming in for the suspended Fabian Schar, while Lloyd Kelly was preferred ahead of Lewis Hall at left-back as he made his full debut against his former club.
Although Krafth was sometimes hesitant on the ball, he performed relatively well alongside Dan Burn. Kelly will have benefitted from his 70 minutes on the pitch, although was given a tough time by former teammate Antoine Semenyo.
Reflecting on Kelly’s debut, Howe said: “It was good for Lloyd to play, I was really pleased to give him his debut. In part, that was why we played Lloyd, he gave us extra height and speed against Bournemouth’s quick players.
On the bench, well, the goalkeeping situation got even more confusing.
John Ruddy replaced Dubravka on the bench after the Slovakian sustained a concussion in training. Summer signing Odysseas Vlachodimos, who Newcastle signed for undisclosed fee from Nottingham Forest, was left out of the squad for the second week running.
It seems the Greek goalkeeper is further down the pecking order than expected and an exit before Friday’s transfer deadline can’t be ruled out.
Two subs – both with different motivations
With United struggling to regain a foothold in the game, Howe turned to his bench on the hour-mark and made a double substitution.
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