I didn’t have the first idea who Matthias Jaissle was when he was swiftly appointed after Eddie Howe left. What was evident was that he was a left field appointment who while he’d had notable success in his career, was unproven in a big league. I read some of the stuff written about his coaching style and tactics though and ended up feeling quite excited to see exactly what he’d bring to Newcastle.
One thing that left me puzzled though was the phrase ‘vertical football’, which seems to have come from his associations with the Red Bull group and Ralf Ragnick. Later, I read a comment online from Kevin Hatchard saying “If you’re getting confused or agitated about the phrase “vertical football”, you’re an insufferable dope.” I mean, I wouldn’t argue too much about the dope bit. Still, all I could figure out was that we’d hopefully be on the front foot a lot and going at teams.
After 13 games – league, cup and friendlies – I’m no further forward. Whatever vertical football is, it doesn’t seem to be working. It seems to involve a lot of long balls, not enough pressure on the ball when we defend – I mean, just count those shots against – and chaos across the pitch but especially in defence.
To be fair, Jaissle was brought in only three weeks before the season and has gone on record as saying that the system could take months to be fully understood and effective. It seems clear to me that he needs to be given time and patience, which I get is difficult after the last two games. This was always going to be a transitional season given the players that left in summer and the amount of young players brought in to replace them. A little like the manager, there was almost no Premier League experience with those incoming transfers. Maybe the flirtation with the likes of Pierre Emile Hjobjerg made a lot more sense than we realised.
However, while patience is important, change and flexibility is too. Jaissle has to tweak things at the very least. And I hate to be Captain Obvious, but if we’re going to try and play with a umber 10 then why haven’t we got one? Joe Willock is not the answer. Unless the question is ‘Who is Mr and Mrs Willock’s son?’ Personally I’d like to see Joelinton operating further up the field too, not necessarily as the number 10 figure – although he should have attacking instincts – but just further up the field.
Furthermore, Lewis Miley isn’t a right back, for me. I know that injuries have dictated him being there but the sooner Dedic is fit, the better. In the last two games Miley has been caught out of position a few times and it isn’t helping at all. The lad needs to be in midfield, possibly alongside both Nico and Sean Steur who is being criminally underused at the moment. I understand that age may coming into the thinking here, but the boy is quality and would undoubtedly help our cause. And if that means a change of system, then Jaissle needs to be flexible enough to do so.
On the other hand, if he sticks to his present system, things need tightening up because the gaps in midfield are quite alarming and teams are exploiting them with ease. The conundrum up front has to be addressed too because at the moment no one seems to be any kind of threat. Wissa’s finishing against Villa was poor, Pardo doesn’t look ready and it’s anyone’s guess what Osula might do.
At the back it seems obvious that Sven Botman needs to be taken out of the firing line and if Dan Burn is fit, he should come in for his experience and leadership. If Burn is still short of fitness then Fabian Schar has to come in. And is there any mileage in going three at the back in Thiaw, Burn and Schar and playing Dedic and Hall higher as wing backs?
Newcastle United 2.0 is having a bit of a wobble. Personally, I don’t think there’s any kind of crisis just yet. Performances haven’t been great or consistent so far, but it’s early in the season, early in Jaissle’s tenure and early in a lot of the first team squad’s careers (let alone their time at Newcastle). We knew that this was going to be a season of transition. We knew there’d be ups and downs. Yes, it’s frustrating at the moment. Newcastle United are a difficult watch at present. But we’ve been here before.
We need points, we need confidence and we need to see some flexibility. At the moment only time will tell if that Red Bull link makes Jaissle the new Klopp or just the next Jesse Marsch.
