Newcastle United legend Malcolm Macdonald, affectionately known on Tyneside as ‘Supermac’, has heaped praise on Magpies midfielder Sean Longstaff.
The Magpies starlet has impressed since coming into the team in recent weeks, and opened his account for the club against Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday.
“A young inexperienced player Sean Longstaff taught all his colleagues a lesson I hope they will remember come kick off against Cardiff City in a Premier League match which will define the second half of Newcastle United’s season,” he wrote in his column for The Chronicle, to show that he was a big fan of the youngster.
“Within 57 seconds at Blackburn in the FA Cup their defenders backed off Longstaff – but instead of using a safety-first pass as most midfielders would, the youngster pulled the trigger. And he had his first Newcastle goal.”
However Supermac went on to be critical and took aim at the club’s record in front of goal this season: “United have the second worst goalscoring record in the top flight. They have only notched 16 goals in 22 games, less than a goal a game, which makes my old heart ache. You must score to win matches and Newcastle MUST beat Cardiff at all costs. A draw is not good enough.”
OPINION
Supermac is bang on the money, here. Longstaff has been a breath of fresh air in this Newcastle team in recent weeks. Before, Jonjo Shelvey was the only Magpies central midfielder willing to take a chance when in possession, but now Longstaff is always looking to make something happen. Opportunities were limited for him in his first Premier League start against Chelsea last weekend, obviously, but you saw what he could do with a bit more control of the game on Tuesday. Cardiff will be stiffer opposition than the Championship side on Saturday, of course, but Longstaff will be looking to build on what he achieved in mid week. The Magpies have too many safety-first midfielders. Mohamed Diame, Isaac Hayden, even Ki Sung-yueng, are all too passive when on the ball, and Longstaff is a refreshing antidote to that. Hopefully he continues to make Supermac proud with a big performance against the Bluebirds.
