Bring on Fulham. So far so good for the Magpies

Newcastle United rounded their pre-season campaign off nicely with a fairly comfortable 3-2 victory against the Dutchmen. It could, and should, have been by a lot bigger margin with the magpies racing in to a 3-0 lead before half-time but a win is a win and we have finished pre-season without tasting defeat once. Quite a change from the last pre-season prior to a Championship campaign when we lost 6-1 at Leyton Orient with all kinds of turmoil and chaos occurring within the club.

I rarely attend pre-season friendlies but couldn’t wait to go to this one - it is the Rafa Benitez feel good factor, it’s an odd feeling to have as a Newcastle United fan, actual excitement rather than dread at attending a football match!

I think the most interesting thing about this match was how we lined up as for me, the chances are we will be playing with the same formation, if not the same team, when we face Fulham on Friday in the first game of the Championship season. Benitez had his team in a 4-3-3 formation with a back four of Dummett, Lascelles, Hanley and Janmaat, a central midfield trio of Hayden, Colback and Anita and a front three of Ritchie on the left, Gayle in the middle and Perez on the right. Neither Ritchie nor Perez operated as out and out wingers, instead playing more inside forward roles so in effect, we had 3 strikers.

It’s a system I have long since admired but it is also a system that many NUFC managers have attempted in the past with few having any kind of success with it. What was different this time however, was that the players seemed to know what they were doing, they knew their roles, they knew when to cover or when to run - it looked pretty fluid and effective. The front three in particular worked well, keeping their shape when attacking and backing each other up when required; from a tactical point of view it was incredibly interesting to watch.

The press have put a lot of blame on the back four and keeper, and their inability to defend corners given the magpies’ near 3 goal collapse against Vitesse. I think that is a little hard on them; Grant Hanley was making his first full appearance for the side and given the nature of his play and likely influence on the defence, it is far too early to knock them - new players take time to settle. I would also hazard a guess that it will be the more established Chancel Mbemba who plays against Fulham rather than Hanley. Mbemba sat out the game yesterday after twisting his ankle but it is not thought to be too serious.

My initial concerns at the beginning of pre-season seem to have been allayed. I had assumed that with the expected mass exodus of players and the tide of players coming in to the squad, settling the side, allowing them to gel and play fluid football would be a problem - it hasn’t been. However, I think this next week will be crucial and I fully expect a lot of movement in the transfer market which could well unsettle the squad balance for now.

Moussa Sissoko is still at the club and due to report to training tomorrow, although we all know he won’t be at the club for much longer with both Juventus and Real Madrid seemingly interested at £35m (I can’t do emojis on here but I would want one with a mouth wide open with a confused looking face after that sentence!). The Wijnaldum money has been received and has all but paid for most of the incoming transfers this season up to now but I suspect Rafa will be wanting to spend big before the transfer window shuts in a few weeks time.

For me, we need a top quality left back as I don’t think that Dummett is up to the job - I am thinking long term, not just the coming season in the Championship. I also think we may need a right back if Janmaat leaves the club - in fact, getting Janmaat to commit, or leave is a priority this week as the uncertainty over him is making me feel uncomfortable.

In the middle of the park we have an abundance of players; Hayden, Anita, Colback, Saivet, Tiote and Shelvey. In my opinion we need a Sissoko type (preferably without the laziness, inflated price tag or general can’t be bothered unless the TV cameras are here attitude) replacement, a player who can run box to box, supporting the attack and defence equally. I suspect Tiote will leave and I do not believe Saivet (despite looking promising yesterday) or Colback are all that great.

Up front we still need to replace Cisse and with Riviere and Gouffran we have twi players who have consistently shown they are not good enough. Also, while the Perez to Barcelona rumour isn’t going away and Mitrovic’s 4 game suspension now in effect we are light in numbers up front and I still think we are missing a true 20+ goal a season striker. Anyone of Gayle, Mitrovic or Perez, even Ritchie going on pre-season form, could be that man but I have my doubts. There is of course Adam Armstrong, now there’s a possibility.

However we line up against Fulham in a few days, this is going to be an interesting week ahead; some players will go, some will undoubtedly sign and there may well be some surprises in store for us. We can look back at the pre-season with our heads held high, we have remained undefeated, we have scored a hell of a lot of goals and a large number of players have scored; we haven’t just replied on one man, all in all it has been a successful few weeks on and off of the pitch - not something that goes hand in hand with Newcastle United all that much! Bring Fulham on, I can’t wait!