Last weekend’s game against Bournemouth was an eye-opener in many respects for Matthias Jaissle and his players, affirming their status as the team that has conceded the most shots so far in the league (61), including 14 in the opening 45 minutes against the Cherries.
The midfield duo of Lewis Miley and Nico González was overwhelmed and at times greatly exposed, partly due to Joe Willock’s poor defensive positioning. But even when looking at the duo’s performance with the ball, all the signs point to a change that needs to be made in the middle of the park.
The Toon Army face a challenging pair of fixtures ahead of the international break, starting with the visit to Elland Road on Monday evening against a side that is also renowned for overloading the middle. Following that, Hull City will visit St James’ Park, who are currenlty unbeaten on their return to the Premier League.
The opening three fixtures played to the strengths of a Matthias Jaissle side, as they faced teams who all like to play on the front foot and leave space in behind to exploit. But the next two games, along with Coventry straight after the break, will demonstrate whether the new manager is able to deal with one of the squad’s main weaknesses: breaking down a low block and playing through the lines.
The weaknesses that Bournemouth exposed
According to Jaissle, Newcastle’s biggest issue when they were in possession was that ‘the final pass was missing. We didn’t find the free player’. Perhaps he meant that his players were too timid when they had the ball, that they didn’t try to break the opposition lines with more aggressive, vertical passes.
To the manager’s point, Miley only made six line-breaking passes, 11 fewer than his Spanish teammate. The pair were tightly marked by Bournemouth in the first half, forcing defenders and the goalkeeper to go long and, on occasion, ultimately forfeit possession.
But this is also down to some of the limitations of that double pivot.
Nico prefers to let the ball run past him and face the play rather than face his goal and turn while Miley gave away possession needlessly. If Nico had a partner who was more comfortable playing under pressure, then perhaps Newcastle could have had a greater control over the game from the get-go. On top of that, Miley only won one of his nine duels, whilst Nico González lost four more than he won.
Sean Steur in, Lewis Miley out?
That is where summer signing Sean Steur may come in, as he offers a vastly different profile to Miley that better complements Nico’s abilities in certain game states.
The 18-year-old is a player who has frequently drawn comparisons to former Ajax academy graduate and Barcelona vice-captain Frenkie de Jong for his technical ability and for being an all-round midfielder.
When comparing his and Nico’s percentiles - relative rankings that compare positional peers from different leagues - on DataMB, Steur posts similar numbers to Nico in some categories and highly outranks him in others. For duels won, Steur falls just below the top 20%; for progressive carries he ranks in the top 5% and outranks the La Masia graduate by 25 percentile points for key passes.
These numbers should be caveated with some necessary observations: Steur played just over 200 fewer minutes than Nico in a league that is less physically demanding than the Premier League, so perhaps his numbers are somewhat inflated relative to what he would produce against top-tier opposition.
Additionally, constantly looking for the forward pass is a trait that can be both a blessing and a curse. It gives him a unique specialization, but it needs to be executed in moderation. A reliable partner such as González, who knows when to play forward and when to lower the tempo, can help him thrive.
That is not to say that the Miley-Steur pivot would not work, after all, we only saw them play together for 56 minutes against Liverpool. That opening fixture was played in the transition with Sean Steur never really managing to get a grip on the game. His inexperience was evident at times, as he looked to rush the ball forward rather than try to slow the game down and play to his strengths.
And that is why Steur and Miley should be viewed as options for different types of games rather than one simply replacing the other. Miley outshone Steur in that Liverpool game because he had the calmness and game awareness to understand when it needed to be slowed down and when a quick ball was the best option. But, when he plays alongside Nico González, we see two tempo dictators and no one to break through an intense press to the standard that Sean Steur has shown he can.
His naivety in that game should not be held against him; we are still talking about a teenager who, 365 days ago, was featuring regularly in the Dutch second tier for the Ajax B team. Miley has had his progress stalled by injuries and has only ever started just over 30 league games. Nico González became a Magpie just over two weeks ago. Patience will be key for all three as Newcastle try to make progress under the new German manager.
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