Newcastle United have performed admirably in their return to the Premier League this season but the Magpies have started to hit a bump in the road, winning just one of their last five fixtures and losing two games on the bounce.
With Manchester United awaiting after the international break, there’s certainly cause for concern on Tyneside and the biggest issue has been a lack of consistency in front of goal- with Newcastle scoring just ten goals in eleven games.
Top-scorers Joselu and Jamaal Lascelles are tied with just two goals apiece, with the latter of course being a central defender, and questions are now starting to be asked of Rafael Benitez- particularly as he continues to overlook Aleksandar Mitrovic.
However, there have been some suggestions in the media recently that Benitez should no be blamed and instead the issue is a lack of investment in the summer, where the Spanish boss is known to have got frustrated with a lack of funds to spend.
That’s sparked a response from fans, many of whom don’t agree.
I love Rafa as much as the next but the man is human and he's gonna make mistakes he's not above criticism no one is
— PREDATOR (@prowe29195) November 7, 2017
Lack of investment? Shut up man hes bought players and its his own players so he has to take some blame!!!
— Keegan Ruddock (@Keegan_Ruddock) November 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/2litre/status/927544830179364864
So who was it that brought Murphy and Perez on and left mitro on the bench 🤔
— Glenn84 (@Glennaveli) November 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/ashsales22/status/927495740707962880
We invested in a young English player for £12m who looks like its his first time playing football
— TOON BARMY (@Aggaz82) November 6, 2017
Stop making propaganda that Rafa is not blameable
— Will M (@mccamleywil) November 6, 2017
Rafa has cost us the last few games with his team selections and substitutions ! Yes we all love him but he can be at fault too
— Toon4 (@zekiv6) November 6, 2017
Mitrovic was clear fans favourite to start on saturday yet he didnt even feature. Instead brings on perez and murphy championship players
— Lee Anderson (@RealLeeAnderson) November 6, 2017
Mitro should have been played, no excuses. I like Raffa and don’t like to criticise, but why have a player on the bench, if he won’t use him
— grumpy_old_sod (@AndyHarle1968) November 6, 2017
A lot of our issues *are* due to the lack of investment in the summer but that does not mean that there aren't better options available
— Andrew Neill (@andrewsneill) November 6, 2017
True. But he's not making use of what he's got. Not using Mitro doesn't make sense. If he doesn't rate him why did he keep him?
— Donone (@BaldTiredGrumpy) November 6, 2017
