The saviour of Newcastle United? Aleksandar Mitrovic

Newcastle United has a wonderful history of number 9’s. Alan Shearer, Les Ferdinand and Andy Cole to name but a few, will go down in the club’s history due to their exploits up front. Whilst these goals have never resulted in the club ending the season with a trophy, they have always provided fans with a glimmer of hope; we’ve had someone to lead the line, someone the fans can get behind, a leader in the side, a figurehead for the club, a hero.

In more recent times we have seen the likes of Mark Viduka, Obafemi Martins, Michael Owen, Demba Ba, Papiss Cisse and err, Shola Ameobi all get their chance to shine and whilst some of them have shown occasional good performances (Cisse and Ba in particular), chipping in with the odd goal here and there, there has been no consistency over a full season. Many would say this is synonymous with the club as a whole; far too often we have seen glimpses of talent but then have been massively let down in subsequent games.

The hope for a dramatic revival this season potentially falls on the shoulders of the young summer signing, Aleksandar Mitrovic. Many fans would not have heard of the Serb when he signed in the summer for a reported £13 million but fans of the Football Manager series of computer games will have licked their lips in anticipation – what a legend he is on that game!

Aleksandar Mitrovic came through the ranks of the highly acclaimed Partizan Academy before signing for RC Anderlecht in 2013. Whilst never hitting the world headlines he has consistently scored goals whenever he has played, he has Champions League and international experience and let’s not forget, he is still only 21.

Aleksandar Mitrovic is a no nonsense type of player; equally capable of playing the ball on the ground and having the strength and power to be a presence in the air. We haven’t had a player like him since the days of Alan Shearer and Les Ferdinand. And no, I am not comparing Aleksandar Mitrovic to Alan Shearer or Les Ferdinand just yet; but he certainly shares some of the attributes of both of these club legends.

Whilst he has had an undoubtedly rocky start to his Newcastle United career; early bookings and a sending off in his first few games have already cast some doubt on his temperament, those who saw his performances away at Manchester United, and the (first half) performance away at Manchester City will have witnessed something we have not seen a Newcastle United striker do in a long time; the ability to hold up the ball and keep possession.

I’ve written in previous blogs about whether Steve McClaren will go with his usual one up front Dutch model or play a more traditional 2 up front. It’s hard for me to praise either system right now given our recent run of results which we have seen both systems given an airing this season. Papiss Cisse and Ayoze Perez have both been played as a lone striker but they simply are not suited to that role. Aleksandar Mitrovic can play up front by himself as he has the power and strength to do so but I personally think he would benefit with a striker partner. Whether that partner is Papiss Cisse or Ayoze Perez remains to be seen but I suspect a partnership of Mitrovic and Perez is a better long term plan – or will Charlie Austin potentially have something to say about that in January?

Aleksandar Mitrovic has played a couple of games during the international break which will have further added to his match fitness. Reports in the local press this morning say both Papiss Cisse and Ayoze Perez are fully fit and despite losing Tim Krul for the season, the squad is looking in decent shape to face Norwich this weekend.

This really is a must win game. Steve McClaren says the season starts now. Well Steve, it kind of started 5 weeks ago but lets gloss over that one for now! We’ve had a tough run of fixtures and we’re now faced with a run of 10-15 games that most people are saying are “winnable”. I have always said I am willing to give the new management team and new signings a chance but now is the time for change, now is the time to get some points on the board, we need a performance.

Aleksandar Mitrovic, over to you. No pressure son.