da apostebet： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Off the Bench series, which places in-game managerial decisions and squad selections under FFC’s microscope.
da brdice： Wolves stretched their unbeaten run to eight against Newcastle but Nuno Espirito Santo’s lack of adventure cost his team all three points.
Off the bench
Newcastle are on a poor run of form with two wins in ten league games, and despite the victory against Manchester United they have often struggled at home, yet Nuno didn’t take advantage of the lack of threat they offered going forward.
Instead, he set-up to contain the Magpies, and that resulted in a lacklustre first-half display which has left some fans frustrated. His alteration at half-time to put Matt Doherty in a more advanced position worked well, but his reluctance to change more backfired.
Doherty almost got the winner in the dying seconds, and perhaps should have, but Wolves lacked ambition even when the Magpies went down to ten men, and the decision to leave Patrick Cutrone on the bench was a mystifying one.
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Diogo Jota was given the chance to partner Raul Jiminez up-front and when he was withdrawn Nuno chose to replace him with Pedro Neto, and that had negative consequences for his side.
It meant Jiminez was heavily outnumbered by Newcastle’s three centre-backs, and too often he found himself having to run into the channels to get the ball, so wasn’t able to get on the end of opportunities in the box.
A lack of faith?
Cutrone was signed in the summer for £16m but has only started three league games, and the fact he has one goal in the Premier League may be the reason behind Nuno’s decision not to grant him more opportunities.
It was a game that was tailor-made for his introduction, too, with Wolves’ willingness to pepper the box with crosses – 25 in total – eventually leading to the chance for the goal and also Doherty’s last-minute header.
The 21-year-old was praised in Italy for his abilities in the area, with comparisons made to another poacher, Filippo Inzaghi, and his presence could have made the difference for Wolves.
Even when the home side went down to ten men his manager decided to keep him on the bench, and in fact he failed to make another substitute in the last ten minutes, which contributed to the failure to claim all three points.
It was a bewildering decision and one that could possibly dent Cutrone’s confidence, as it suggests his manager lacks belief in his ability – instead trusting an unproven 19-year-old in Neto ahead of him.