OPINION
Rafa Benitez rang in the changes when it came to his starting line-up for Newcastle United’s clash with Blackburn Rovers on Saturday and it didn’t exactly work out for him.
Blackburn drew 1-1 the Magpies 1-1 on Saturday to ensure a replay with Benitez’s team in the FA Cup and keep some hope alive that the club would go on magical cup run this season.
Bradley Dack put Blackburn ahead in the 56th minute by scoring his 13th goal of the season but Matt Ritchie convert a penalty won by Ayoze Perez to see the game ended as a draw.
Nothing but Newcastle has rounded up the three things learned about the FA Cup clash with Blackburn below:
Murphy needs an exit
Jacob Murphy clearly needs an exit as soon as possible and the only question is whether it should be a permanent or temporary one. The 23-year-old winger was handed a rare chance to impress against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday and completely fluffed his lines. Murphy, who earns £25,000-a-week at St James Park (Source: Spotrac), hasn’t kicked on since joining the Magpies from Norwich in 2017 and he is at a real risk of stagnating. Murphy’s crossing, decision making and just general play all looked below the level it should be on Saturday which was worry. Given that the winger hardly gets playing time at the Magpies this season, it’s easy to summarise that it’s doing him no favours and if he is going to get his career back on course then needs to be a club that will play him regularly one way or another.
Joselu still lacks
Joselu. Oh Joselu. The 28-year-old Magpies forward led the line against Blackburn Rover and it’s clear to see he isn’t good enough for Benitez’s side. Joselu works very hard and will chase every ball but he just doesn’t have the quality to finish his chances on a regular basis to be the forward the club need. The Spanish forward clearly wouldn’t be at St James Park currently or would be facing an exit if Benitez had anywhere near a decent transfer budget handed to him. While some fans may tear Joselu apart it is kind of sad to watch him continuing to fail deliver the goods especially when playing lower-ranked opposition as his effort or desire can never be questioned.
Lejeune being back is a boost
Florian Lejeune being back in action for the Magpies was a huge boost to Benitez in what was disappointing match. The 27-year-old centre-back was making his first appearances of the season after an injury that he sustained in the summer had kept him from featuring. Yet Lejeune didn’t show any real signs of being overly rusty and was arguably one of his side’s most promising performers. While Benitez has several options regarding his centre-backs, he will still be delighted to see the Frenchman back available as you feel he has the quality to re-establish himself as first-team regular despite there being a lot of competition for a place.
