A lot of Newcastle United fans have flocked to a post from a Toon fan who has posted an image that claims Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier completed more passes against the Magpies on Wednesday night than any Newcastle player.
According to WhoScored, the Frenchman attempted 27 passes, and only three Toon players managed to attempt more than Leeds’ goalkeeper.
Meslier’s passing success rate is also close to 90%, while none of those players who attempted as many passes – Joelinton, Sean Longstaff and Karl Darlow – are even close to that, so you can see why these Newcastle fans are so annoyed.
What did these Newcastle fans think of this damning statistic on Illan Meslier?
That is shocking. Horrific.
— ?N?I?C?K?Y? (@fORgEtMeAlWays_) December 17, 2020
Wow that is unreal. Embarrassing
— Dean West (@Dean11west) December 18, 2020
Tragic. I saw another one saying 1/3 of our passes were unsuccessful. Frightening
— Adam Hassan (@Adam_Hassan909) December 17, 2020
Are you annoyed by this?
Yes, I am fuming
No, it doesn't matter
Looking at the amount of possession the Whites had (69%), it is probably no real surprise that Meslier attempted more passes than the majority of the Toon’s team.
Still, the fact that he did so is still pretty awful, and we are not surprised these Newcastle fans are fuming at what is a damning indictment of their performance in midweek.
@chris_sutton73 @RobbieSavage8 open your eyes and see how bad we are under your best friend Bruce !! #nufc
— Ian Windsor (@IanAWindsor) December 18, 2020
Absolutely appalling.
— Sports Europe (@NickDryden1) December 17, 2020
Shocking stat #BRUCEOUT #AshleyOut https://t.co/UMHBTJbAET
— T J Higgins (@TheMokPope) December 18, 2020
Leeds absolutely battered Newcastle and smashed in five goals, and this statistic just goes to demonstrate what a poor performance it was from Steve Bruce’s side on Wednesday. While it may point to the contrasting styles of both teams, it is clear that there was a distinct lack of creativity from the Newcastle players in their last game.