OPINION
Newcastle United led against Watford at Vicarage Road on Saturday but ultimately had to settle for a point following a 1-1 draw.
There were opportunities for both sides to win over the course of a pulsating contest, but overall a point shared is probably a fair result.
Salomon Rondon opened the scoring for the Magpies with his fifth league goal of the season, only for Hornets midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure to equalise in the 82nd minute,
As usual there is plenty to be gleaned from the contest, and Nothing but Newcastle has rounded up three things that can be learned from Newcastle’s draw with Watford.
Diame proves worth
Mohamed Diame can be mildly described as polarising. The Senegal star hasn’t always been the supporters’ favourite player this season, but he showed why he is so valuable to his team on Saturday.
The 31-year-old was everywhere as he battled with the Hornets for control of the midfield. He isn’t the flashiest of players and that’s probably why he goes unheralded, but he does an important job for his team.
Playing alongside Isaac Hayden once again, Diame had to shoulder both a defensive and offensive burden. Hayden is limited in what he can do going forward so Diame has to be relied upon more in that sense. He player well today and should be pleased with his efforts.
Perez need to be axed once and for all
Forward Ayoze Perez has had so many chances at Newcastle this season it’s becoming beyond a joke. He pops up with goals every now and then but is more often than not pretty much anonymous.
That was the case once again on Saturday where he failed to produce anything of note, really. He needs to be dropped now because this has happened too many times this campaign.
The Spaniard is in the team to provide support to Rondon and profit from his fantastic hold up play, but he simply doesn’t do that. He isn’t a goalscorer and he doesn’t do enough to build up the play. He needs to be dropped and an upgrade signed in January.
Rondon is perfect for Newcastle
You sense that Rafael Benitez knew what sort of season this was going to be when he made the decision to offload Dwight Gayle in an exchange-of-sorts with West Bromwich Albion for Rondon.
He obviously realised that he didn’t have enough talent in his squad to play attractive, tika-taka football and so he made his move to bring in a striker who would suit the style of football his team needed to play.
Rondon is just that man. He excels in the nasty side of the game, holding the ball up well and making the most of the scraps he mostly has to feed on. He’s also a pretty reliable goalscorer and that was evident once again on Saturday.
