Mick Quinn-
I still cannot get my head around Newcastle United’s performance at Upton Park - I just did not know what to make of them.
Steve McClaren set them up to try and nick and point and they were turned over by West Ham United in pretty poor fashion.
You couldn’t fault the effort of the players, they ran their hearts out but the performance itself was just not good enough.
It was conservatism gone mad from Steve McClaren and I just didn’t understand it - you’ve got to at least offer some sort of a threat.
The team looked like they were in a comfort zone that they just could not shake themselves out of.
I just didn’t think they looked like they wanted to take the game to West Ham United at any stage.
The midfielders were on top of each other, getting tangled in each another’s way and were thoroughly outplayed.
If Newcastle go and set-up like that at The Emirates or at Old Trafford, like they did last month, then you say fair enough – but they were playing West Ham for crying out loud.
There was absolutely no width whatsoever in that Newcastle side and that is extremely concerning.
Even more worrying is the fact that the players did not look like they had any idea what they should be doing. There are no defined roles in that side, and as players it is really difficult to go full gas when you aren’t really sure what way you should be playing in the first place.
As for the traffic delay before the game, that cannot be used as a viable excuse by professional footballers.
Back in my day we did used to do all the warm-up preparation and things – although to a far lesser extent than they do now – but I used to hate getting there early.
In fact I preferred getting there not too long before kick-off, making sure all my muscles were stretched and the blood was flowing through nicely, and then just get playing.
Waiting around for too long was just not something I wanted to be doing.
There can be no excuses for that performance though, absolutely none whatsoever. The players didn’t have the ideal preparation but they had more than enough time to get ready and the way they performed was just not acceptable.
The problem was they came up against a team whose confidence is sky high right now after impressive wins against Arsenal and Liverpool, and Newcastle were just coasting along with the handbrake on.
Dimitri Payet’s first goal was a very good finish but the defending and tracking was just invisible. They should have closed down Mark Noble and then Payet himself.
Victor Moses was also allowed to run almost unopposed on several occasions – including for the second goal – that cannot happen.
Players just need to start making tackles and actually put themselves about and show the opposition they’re in a proper game.
The main difference between West Ham and Newcastle on Monday night was the fact that the Hammers had players who could unlock defences and the Magpies did not.
There was no width for Newcastle and they just didn’t look a threat, whereas West Ham looked like scoring every time they attacked.
Toon fans shouldn’t panic just yet because McClaren needs time but the West Ham performance was concerning.
Newcastle just were not good enough and were beaten by a better team - it’s as simple as that.