Newcastle Star Nico Gonzalez Left Stranded And Let Down By Matthias Jaissle

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Performances have collapsed under Eddie Howe's replacement amid doubts over his midfield team selections

Newcastle fans may have been bracing themselves for a bumpy road this season but few would have anticipated such a damaging nosedive under Matthias Jaissle, which looks to be leaving a key man exposed.

Eddie Howe's sudden resignation late in the summer , during a bruising transfer window which seemed to dismantle much of what the Englishman had built at St. James' Park, signified all was not well at the club.

The departure of Anthony Gordon to Barcelona ahead of the World Cup and the subsequent arrival of Bazoumana Toure seemed like Newcastle 's attempt to bite the bullet and avoid another late scramble to replace a key men, seemingly having learned the lessons of the Aleksander Isak saga from a year earlier .

But when the central midfield unit took a battering in the form of Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes leaving for Tottenham and Arsenal respectively for the best part of £200 million, with Jaissle's August appointment to replace Howe sandwiched in the middle, the Magpies found themselves dashing to reinforce despite spending significantly on Sean Steur and Aladji Bamba already.

And it's a good thing they did make another late signing for big money otherwise the collapse in results under Jaissle might be even uglier, but one of the silver linings in this side at present can't be happy with where he has found himself.

Nico Gonzalez was available for £52m thanks to Man City shelling out huge money right up to the window closing, and after becoming something of a forgotten man at the Etihad, the Spaniard might have been glad for a second crack in the Premier League.

But as results and performances have fallen apart around him, the 24-year-old might be wondering what he has got himself into as he is left to put out fires left, right, and centre in a Newcastle midfield that is not matching him.

A 2-2 draw against Newcastle to open the season, while Gonzalez was still a City player, followed by a win at Tottenham and a draw with Bournemouth around a couple of League Cup victories, suggested growing pains under former Al-Alhi boss Jaissle but with the potential for something to develop.

Three defeats in four since, including 4-1 thrashings at the hands of Leeds United and a previously-winless Coventry City, have dashed most early hopes, as much for the manner of the defeats as the results themselves.

A 1-0 reverse at home to Aston Villa on Saturday hardly constituted the reaction Jaissle wanted to being embarrassed by Frank Lampard and company at the start of the week, with Newcastle failing even to register a shot on target in the first half.

But is the German helping himself or his side with the way he is setting his team up? It is fair to question in the circumstances, and for many fans the spotlight is on a midfield that has gone through a huge change from one season to the next.

Any side would suffer because of losing the qualities of Tonali and Guimaraes, and Gonzalez has to take his share of responsibility for the current form, but as a deep-lying playmaker he appears to be doing what he can.

Gonzalez

Percentile

- Accurate Long Balls 14 82nd - Line-Breaking Passes 67 78th - Chances Created 9 84th

FotMob stats indicate he is outperforming at least three quarters of comparable midfielders in categories such as accurate long balls, line-breaking passes, and chances created, but if the side are otherwise getting overrun in those areas, it means little.

Jaissle is increasingly opting to field Gonzalez with support from the likes of Joelinton and Joe Willock in central areas, as Lewis Miley has been moved into a full-back role, with young signing Steur apparently dropping down the pecking order, and Bamba still barely getting a sniff of action since his arrival.

Joelinton clearly deserves huge credit for reinventing himself as a midfielder under Howe after his disappointing return when signed as a forward, while Willock has made key contributions in his time as a Magpie, but when the direction of travel is very much in the wrong direction questions are inevitably going to be asked of Jaissle when he has over £50m worth of summer midfield signings warming the bench.

Of course, the Newcastle boss sees these players in training every week, so maybe the fault lies with the new arrivals as much as the manager, but he surely needs to find a way to set up his midfield to be more substantial and to give Gonzalez a platform to create rather than scramble towards all things at all times.

Fans have seen enough of Steur to feel he at least might be the answer, with the Dutch teenager ironically starting in place of Gonzalez for the most recent victory against Hull City, but they are still largely in the dark as to what Bamba can offer.

Whatever Jaissle is aiming for right now isn't working, so changes are going to be necessary sooner rather than later unless things turn around.

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