OPINION
We’ve all made expensive mistakes.
Whether it’s a treadmill bought in the selection box-induced guilt of a January sale that now sits dormant in the spare bedroom, or a slightly outlandish jacket that looked great on the mannequin but that you’ve never had the guts to wear in public, there are times when we all could have done with keeping the wallet firmly in the back pocket.
But even accounting for those errors in judgement, it’s probably fair to wager that you’ve never wasted £40 million.
Right now, it’s looking worryingly as if Mike Ashley might have done just that.
When Joelinton signed for Newcastle United in the summer, there were high hopes of him being the man to replace the recently departed Salomon Rondon at the focal point of the Toon attack.
Instead, the Magpies have been left with a fairly ineffective, very expensive flop who has hit just one goal in 16 games.
His average of 1.5 shots per game isn’t disastrous, as per Whoscored, but his ratio of finishing chances is, and at the moment, it feels as if the Magpies might as well be storming the Bastille with a spud gun.
Something’s got to give, and according to The Athletic journalist Chris Waugh, a change of position could be what is needed.
Writing in a Q&A for the site, he said: “There needs to be a re-think with Joelinton.
“I think he’d be better out wide or in a deeper role playing off someone else.”
Whatever the solution is to Joelinton’s problems, something has to change drastically as soon as possible.
A period out of the side might do him more harm than good, and as a result, a little bit of tinkering could be the order of the day.
