Newcastle 3-1 Nottingham Forest - Match Reaction

Newcastle ran out 3-1 winners at home to Nottingham Forest on Friday night. Yet another brace from Dwight Gayle secured the victory after a deflected free kick from Matt Richie begun the scoring. Forest were able to equalize in the first half but the points never looked in doubt after Matt Mills was sent off for dissent having being booked only moments before.

The game itself was satisfactory if only for the justice served after the debacle at the City Ground only weeks before. To see Forest perform as weakly as they did served to remind just how poor they were in both fixtures – and only through gargantuan help from the officials could they ever envisage beating us. That said, if we contrast the two games in terms of our performance what is most alarming is that we arguably played better with 10 men than we did last night. It is clear we are missing the creativity of Shelvey, but there is a lingering suspicion around Tyneside (vocalised heavily by John Anderson) that this Newcastle squad is not quite as strong as we might assume.

In this game, Newcastle were once again devoid of creativity. They looked shaky at the back. Generally, we’ve been able to get away with our deficiencies because of a) the finishing prowess of Gayle, and b) the excellence of Shelvey. But to trot out another cliché: to rely on a small number of players to take you to success always risks failure. Put another way, where on earth would we be without Gayle and Shelvey? It doesn’t bear thinking about.

Addressing this issue clearly demands a substantial dip into the transfer market. Not simply because we lose players to the African Cup of Nations, but also because there is an evident lack of quality behind our performing players. Perez looks lost. Hayden needs creativity next to him. Gouffran is limited. Colback. Mitrovic looks off the pace.

I had a feeling at the beginning of the season that were a little light in midfield. Benitez speaks often of the need to control the game – and I think we need a couple more players to do just that. It is a testament to Rafa that we sit tope of the league at this stage – now we need to build on it.

Zooming out from yesterday – the calendar demands I offer a review of the year. Clearly, it’s been one of disappointment. Losing our PL status was tough to take. But in the eye of that disappointment, what has been most remarkable about this year is seeming inversion between the mood around SJP and our current league status. It is not just that we are filling our stadium in the Championship – although that is striking.

It is that Newcastle fans have not felt this optimistic about the future since the early 2000s. Setbacks are no longer disasters. Underperformances no longer tantamount to existential crises. We are becoming a club of stability. A club where the overwhelming emotion is positive. A club less constituted by anxiety. These are important at any football club, but they are especially needed here. Happy New Year! And long may it continue.