OPINION
Jacob Murphy has been waiting a long time for a chance to prove himself for Rafael Benitez’s Newcastle United, and on Saturday evening he squandered that opportunity completely – being slaughtered by the fans on Twitter. The Magpies went toe to toe with Blackburn Rovers in the third round of the FA Cup, and surrounded by a lacklustre team, Murphy managed to standout in his lack of quality. The 23-year-old couldn’t ask for a better chance to break into the first team, with Kenedy and Christian Atsu both underwhelming consistently. If he put together any decent run of form the winger would surely find himself ahead of those two in the pecking order, and yet Benitez continues to ostracise him. Saturday’s outing justified that decision completely. Fans can forgive a lot, but when a player is getting the fundamentals of the game wrong time and time again, it gets to a point where frustration is bound to boil over. Murphy’s performance against Rovers highlighted a player who looked well short of the standard required to play in the Premier League, and that will be a worry for his employers.
This is Futbol have gathered some of the best tweets below:
12million for Murphy guys 1st touch is that good his 2nds a tackle..Brutal #nufc
— Lee Kirkpatrick ?? ?? (@Kirkpatrick180) January 5, 2019
https://twitter.com/JoeD_Nufc/status/1081610163247898626
Murphy looks clueless whenever he gets the ball forward. No wonder Rafa doesn’t play him. #nufc
— Highland Geordie (@NUFC_Oscar86_) January 5, 2019
https://twitter.com/Adamclarko/status/1081607932981272577
Murphy no end product whatsoever eithe kick it out of play or into the keepers hands not good enough #nufc
— Aaron Olsson (@AOlssonNUFC) January 5, 2019
https://twitter.com/bheads1/status/1081610526290006016
https://twitter.com/Mrstuie89/status/1081621367634776066
https://twitter.com/RyanNUFC_7/status/1081616044320530433