OPINION
Newcastle United fans were no doubt rather concerned that their team is now sitting in 20th in the Premier League after the 1-0 defeat Brighton.
Many of them may be resigned to the fact that a victory is just not going to come any time soon, and why wouldn’t they? This match was massively overhyped as a ‘must-win’, and the players crumbled apart when it mattered most.
The cracks were there for everyone to see, and it is still glaringly obvious that United need some extra edge up front in January if they want to salvage their season.
However, there was one player who seemed pretty much invisible from the word go – and that is Ayoze Perez.
He just cannot seem to get it together this season – and that is slightly worrying, especially as he was Newcastle’s top scorer last time out.
The 25-year-old wasted several good opportunities to initally put the Magpies ahead, and then again to draw them level with the Seagulls – and scuppering match-defining chances such as these is certainly not good enough for a player of Perez’ experience.
His inability to be clinical with the final ball is actually rather astonishing, and it is this reason amongst others that shows he is just a waste of a shirt and a January exit to help build funds next season .
Perez is just making Rafa Benitez’ job a lot harder than it needs to be – if he was able to lay in some crosses for the likes of Joselu when he came on in the second half, then everybody’s lives would be made so much easier.
Benitez’ job is already difficult – and now that he has a misfiring player on his hands, guiding the team out of the relegation zone will prove to be a very laborious process.
The £45,000-a-week [Spotrac] player is just a waste of a shirt following this gutless display, and the faster he goes – preferably in January – the more relieved fans will feel.