Two positives from Newcastle’s 3-2 defeat to Brentford

I’ve already covered four major concerns from the match in a piece posted yesterday, however, despite what was generally a miserable and unacceptable display, there were a couple of positives to take into tomorrow’s trip to Spurs.

Good: Sven Botman and star duo 

Despite the general failings of the defence, it was encouraging to see Sven Botman score for the first time since January 2024 on his 100^th appearance for the club. Janelt unfortunately peeled off the back of him to get Brentford’s equaliser, but the cross was a wicked one and you would’ve thought there’d be more desire to stop the cross at source by Kieran Trippier.

The Dutchman completed the most passes in the match with 54, recovered the ball five times, and made eight headed clearances in what was a solid individual display despite that lapse.

Despite Thiago roughing him up at times, he won the majority of his battles against the big Brazilian and all the goals came down the opposite side. For a man who has suffered terrible injuries over the last two years (and on the back of a significant new contract), he appears to be slowly building back up to the player he used to be.

Hopefully, he won’t get burnt out playing too many games as we really need to protect him if he is to reach those 2022/23 heights again.

Perhaps not enough to write an entire section on, as we know how good they are at this stage, but Saturday was also a reminder of Lewis Hall and Bruno Guimaraes’ importance. While so many others were hiding or putting in stinkers, the pair were giving their all, trying to drive us on and looked visibly gutted at the full-time whistle.

Good-ish: Nick Woltemade in the 10

There seems to be a scapegoat campaign when it comes to Nick Woltemade, (something I completely disagree with), but I thought he looked fresh and willing to try things when he came on playing a little deeper than he has been used in the main this season, Bournemouth in the FA Cup aside.

He showed some neat touches and found more space than he has for weeks but he still seemed a little shy in pulling the trigger when he was well placed. He linked up well with Osula when he came on too, and I was surprised when he didn’t take the penalty which may just be a sign of how low his confidence is at the minute.

I feel like we need to play the lad to try and find him some form as we can’t risk losing him in the summer as there is a hell of a player in there, he is only 23, and in my opinion, he will become one of the best in Europe.

Perhaps we need to look at how he is used for the German side for some inspiration.