Jeff Stelling has given Matt Le Tissier a rap across the knuckles for his latest comments on Newcastle United ace Allan Saint-Maximin.
The Frenchman opened his account for the Toon Army with a headed effort against Sheffield United on Thursday night, leading to a discussion on the strike on Soccer Saturday (Sky Sports News, December 7th, 13.00).
Addressing Le Tissier, Stelling said: “Saint-Maximin got his goal – what price would you have got against it being a header?”
In response, Le Tissier said: “I think it had to be a header for his first goal because there was no way he was scoring with his feet.”
Stelling then replied: “Tiss, you’re in a very harsh mood today.”
OPINION
This was a bit of a cheeky one from Le Tissier, but even though Stelling has given him a slap on the wrist, it’s hard not to agree with the pundit. Saint-Maximin has shown us time and time again this season that he is capable of pulling off the sublime. The Frenchman has averaged four successful dribbles per game in the Premier League so far this season, as per Whoscored, but his end product has been seriously lacking. With 1.5 shots per game, he has been getting into the right areas, but he has missed some absolute sitters so far this term, and you kind of felt that he needed a stroke of luck or something unorthodox to get himself up and running in England. The hope for Newcastle fans will be that now he has one, the floodgates will open. If they do, he could be a serious player.