Newcastle looked to have progressed on the pitch in recent matches, with a win against Chelsea and a draw with Everton both very respectable results as the team attempts to move away from the relegation zone.
However, as has been the case for much of the season, it was one step forward and two steps backwards for the Magpies as they drew 0-0 with League One Oxford on Saturday, despite fielding a strong line-up.
There was even a debut for Nabil Bentaleb but he did little to put his team on the front foot, with the north-east outfit managing a pitiful four shots on target.
A lot of room for improvement, then.
Newcastle’s lack of attacking threat has been a constant problem this term with just 24 goals from 24 league games, and yet Steve Bruce has done little to rectify the problem in the transfer market.
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Costly mistake
The Magpies spent big in the summer in a bid to replace the 25 goals lost from the departures of Salomon Rondon and Ayoze Perez, but so far £40m Joelinton has not delivered in front of goal.
The Brazilian has two goals from 27 games, but his attacking teammates fare no better. Andy Carroll, Dwight Gayle and Yoshinori Muto have a solitary goal between them, and yet Bruce didn’t think it necessary to make a forward addition his priority this month.
Signing Bentaleb and Valentino Lazaro could help to improve the squad but it may end up having limited impact if there isn’t a forward in place to finish off chances when they come.
Joelinton needs some time out of the starting line-up to reduce the pressure on him and perhaps allow him to have an impact off the bench instead, but Bruce’s targeting of Paco Alcacer has come too late, and as a result, they may run out of time as the window closes soon.
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That has cost Newcastle wins, and will likely continue to do so until the club brings in a striker more suited to the counter-attacking style that the team operates with.
Meanwhile, rumours are circulating which link an old fan favourite to the job of Newcastle manager.
