In the last season, Sean Longstaff made his breakthrough at Newcastle United. Soon, the young English midfielder aroused the attention of Manchester United in the summer transfer window. If he had left in the summer, he would not have had the chance to play with his younger brother, Matthew, at the St James’ Park this season.
Matthew Longstaff became the headline of newspapers after his brilliant Premier League debut performance against United. He hit the bar in the first half and scored the vital winning goal after the break. Afterwards, in games against Chelsea and Wolves, the ‘Longstaff brothers’ partnered each other and started.
In these matches, even the experienced player, Jonjo Shelvey, was also left on the bench. The younger Longstaff produced some exciting performances that earned him a chance to renew his contract. When discussing Longstaff, Newcastle manager Steve Bruce also wished him to extend his contract.
In this tactical analysis scout report, the attributes of Longstaff under the tactics of Newcastle are going to be evaluated.
Tactics of Newcastle
This part of the analysis is going to introduce some basic tactics of Bruce’s Newcastle, and the starting position of Longstaff.
Despite Rafael Benítez going to China in the summer, Newcastle continued developing the 5-4-1 formation of the Spaniard. Their key players Salomón Rondón and Ayoze Pérez both departed, and so the team bought new signings to replace them.
The defensive line was formed by the back three, with DeAndre Yedlin and Jetro Willems as the wing-backs. In these matches, the ‘Longstaff brothers’ protected the midfield in front of the defenders. Allan Saint-Maximin, Miguel Almirón, and Joelinton took the major responsibility in the attack.
Newcastle had been a very defensive team, they seldom played out from the back. Bruce instructed his team to defend in a unit a 5-4-1 shape. They allowed plenty of spaces between the lines, with the midfielders covering the gaps. With this approach, Newcastle tried to deny central penetration and forced the ball back, and they utilised this process to regroup and maintain their shape. They wanted to force the ball wide, where the players could overload that area and win the possession back with a numerical advantage. Then, they quickly started transitions to create chances. Joelinton or Andy Carroll were the target men to hold the ball with their physical strengths.
Against United and Chelsea, Newcastle were the underdogs, which suited them well. These two teams could not penetrate at the central areas much, thanks to the defensive efforts of Longstaff. In the draw against Wolves, the match was relatively more even, with Newcastle holding the ball longer. On occasions, they tried to move the ball from the back instead of only relying on transitions.
Style of play: long-ranged passing
When we compare the passing statistics of Longstaff to the rest of the team, he did quite well. Longstaff had an average of 39.7 passes per game, three more than his brother, Sean, and passed more than any others in the team. This figure somehow reflected his willingness to connect plays or receive the ball from his teammates. He played three long balls per game, and ranked the second among the midfielders, just behind Shelvey. His long passes will be discussed later.
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