Micky Quinn savagely destroyed Newcastle United trio Issac Hayden, Ciaran Clark and Joselu when delivering his verdict on every member of Rafa Benitez’s squad.
The ex-Magpies player gave his opinion on every member of his former side’s current squad and claimed Hayden, Clark as well as Joselu should all feel lucky to be playing their football in the Premier League.
Quinn shared that in his opinion Clark was Championship quality, Hayden hadn’t progressed in 18 months and Joselu, while a hard worker, was not a good enough finisher for the Magpies.
“He (Clark) is a Championship player for me. He gave everything to get Newcastle back to the top flight and is committed to the last, but he is extremely lucky to still be playing in the Premier League. For me, he shows the lack of depth,” wrote the 56-year-old, who played 110 times for the Magpies, for the Chronicle.
“Another one (Hayden) who should count himself lucky to be a Premier League player. I don’t think he has progressed in the past 18 months.
“Works his (Joselu) socks off and is a likeable character, but he is a lucky lad to be leading the line for Newcastle.
“His failure to take a shot on when through on goal at the weekend reminded me of a tentative schoolboy being too shy to speak up to their teacher.
“He is never going to score double figures in a Premier League season – which is not good enough for a club like Newcastle.”
OPINION
Ouch. Quinn holds nothing back when analysing the current Magpies’ squad. The former player does not feel the need to mask his feelings towards any member of the Magpies’ squad, which is currently struggling, and some of his strong opinions are hard to disagree with. For example Quinn unfortunately hits the nail on the head with his description of Joselu. The forward does seem like a fantastic character who will do anything to succeed at St James Park but the fact of the matter is, he isn’t good enough. The Spanish attacker is meant to be capable of scoring goals for his side but instead he so often looks too scared to shoot or unleashes tame efforts that wouldn’t even sting a goalkeeper’s hands. While it is hard to read criticism of Joselu, as he tries, the same can’t be said for Hayden. The midfielder was gutless against Arsenal this season and his lack of effort should mean that he is packing his bags ready for January.
