After Tuesday’s enthralling 3-3 draw with Manchester United, as well as the double signing of Henri Saivet and Jonjo Shelvey, Steve McClaren’s resurged Magpies took on 5th-placed West Ham at St. James’ Park.
The Toon came out of the blocks showing real intent early on and deservedly took the lead after terrific link-up play between Shelvey and Wijnaldum enabled Spaniard Ayoze Perez to curl a deft effort into the back of the net.
Dutch magician Gini Wijnaldum doubled Newcastle’s lead soon after following a delicious delivery from Daryl Janmaat but West Ham clawed their way back into the game through Nikica Jelavic.
Thankfully, the Magpies held their own and managed to see out a vital 2-1 victory against the Hammers. So, what did we learn from the game?
£12m? Completely worth it!
New signing Jonjo Shelvey marked his debut with an absolutely immense display in front of a loud St. James’ Park. From start to finish, the 23-year-old got his foot on the ball and looked to make things happen, which is something Newcastle have lacked in the middle of the park lately.
He played his part in both goals, firstly placing a driven pass into the feet of Wijnaldum, who then set up Perez to smash one home, then by lofting a beautiful cross-field pass to Daryl Janmaat for Gini’s goal.
His tenacity, vision and directness in the midfield will prove to be pivotal in Newcastle’s future of scoring goals.
Could Colback be our new left-back?
In recent months, last season’s star performer Jack Colback has looked off the pace and not quite up to the task. However, today, he was very good. When Paul Dummett was forced off from a hamstring injury, the Geordie-born ‘midfielder’ slotted into the left-back position.
Colback was arguably better in this position than he was alongside Shelvey in the middle of the park. Could he continue to play there for the Toon? Perhaps.
Gini – Signing of the Season
I could hardly believe my eyes when Wijnaldum was spotted in Newcastle airport ahead of his £14m move from PSV in the summer. Newcastle had pulled off a major coup. More than halfway through the season, and the mesmeric Dutchman is the Magpies’ top scorer.
Today, he oozed class and was a cut above everyone else. Whenever he gets the ball, you just know he can change a game in a matter of seconds. Completely fearless and agile, Gini Wijnaldum is worth twice as much as what we paid for him, and I just hope he remains a Newcastle player for a long time to come.
The old Coloccini is back
For the first ten or so games of this season, the majority of the Geordie faithful wanted Coloccini to be dropped from the side, and rightly so. However, since then, the Argentine veteran has looked a brick wall at the heart of Newcastle’s defence.
He continued on his recent good performances today against the Hammers. The 33-year-old brilliantly prevented a certain goal early on in the game and Valencia was marked out of the game. Coloccini is beginning to look like the player who made his way into the Premier League Team of the Season a few years ago, so let’s hope he keeps it up.