BBC pundit Vicki Sparks believes that Newcastle United have begun to turn a corner despite their loss to Crystal Palace on Tuesday.
Steve Bruce’s men were looking to build on their first win in some time after their victory over Everton at the weekend, but despite going ahead early, they were ultimately defeated by goals from Jairo Riedewald and Gary Cahill.
The home side actually had the lion’s share of possession, shots and shots on target between the two sides, leading to Bruce coming across as quite positive with his post-match thoughts – sentiments that were echoed by Sparks on the BBC’s Football Daily podcast, as she felt there was just enough there to alleviate some fears when it came to their place in the league table.
Speaking after the game, she said: “I think Newcastle and Steve Bruce will look at this and think, you know what, there are still positives to take from the performance – and that’s what we want to see.
“But it just puts the pressure back on them a little bit. They still have this eight-point buffer between themselves and the relegation zone, but Fulham in 18th now have two games in hand on Newcastle. So, promising signs, not the turning point in terms of results [and] momentum they would have wanted off the back of that Everton result. They would have wanted to have something to take away from St. James’ Park tonight, but I think they will look at it, they’ll take the positives and they’ll go again.”
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TIF Thoughts on Vicki Sparks’ comments about Newcastle United’s display…
Whilst Sparks may be right about Newcastle looking promising – not just on Tuesday but also in the game against Everton, there has to come a point where those performances turn into points, because that is what is going to keep Newcastle United in the division.
As shown in their game against Everton, in which the Toffees had more possession and as many shots on target but still saw Newcastle come out on top, it’s not about how you stack up against them, it’s the final result that matters.
So if Newcastle have to grind out results rather than putting in impressive performances, that has to be the priority.