Duncan Ferguson shares what he’s heard about Matthias Jaissle at Newcastle in a no-nonsense opinion
Duncan Ferguson has wondered why Newcastle United chose to replace Eddie Howe with Matthias Jaissle this summer after their recent loss to Everton.
Newcastle had a tough night on Monday, losing 1-0 to Everton at St James’ Park — just days after Everton knocked them out of the Carabao Cup. The team ended with 10 players after substitute Jacob Ramsey was sent off in the 98th minute for a reckless tackle, which summed up their poor performance. They only managed two shots on target all game.
At first, things looked hopeful under Jaissle, but Newcastle have now lost five of their last seven games in all competitions. Fans in Tyneside are starting to get a bit worried.
Newcastle need to bounce back quickly when they play Fulham on Saturday (November 7). But former striker Duncan Ferguson says he isn’t impressed with Jaissle and even questioned why the club hired him instead of sticking with Howe.
Ferguson, who scored 12 goals in 41 games for Newcastle, told Overlap Daily: “I think fans are getting restless. I don’t see it in him, honestly. I don’t know why they brought him in after Eddie Howe had done such a good job — won them a cup, got them competitive, and made them play aggressively up the pitch. Now it seems a bit more passive and negative. I think he could be under pressure.”
Under Howe, Newcastle played an exciting, high-pressing style with quick moves. But since Jaissle took over in August, the team seems to have lost that spark. The stats are not great either — only Hull City and Coventry City have a lower expected goal (xG) output than Newcastle after nine league games, according to FotMob. This has added more pressure on Jaissle, who came from Al-Ahli and was not very well known in England.
Despite fans questioning his role, Newcastle’s boss still has full support from the club’s top officials. CEO David Hopkinson and sporting director Ross Wilson say they’re willing to be patient.
However, if the poor results continue, pressure will grow, and the club may face a big decision. Newcastle currently sit 13th in the Premier League, four points clear of relegation but three behind sixth-place Brentford in a tight table.
A win against Fulham this weekend would help ease the pressure, but the players will need to follow Jaissle’s plans better. After the Everton match, Jaissle admitted the team relied too much on long balls and didn’t give William Osula enough chances.
He said, “Long balls were not the plan. It’s something we need to work on. We lack confidence, and to fix that we have to stick together and learn quickly in the right way. We couldn’t get the ball into good positions. We need a clear plan on how we want to play. Just playing long balls isn’t what Osula prefers, and it wasn’t the plan. We need to analyze why we didn’t start as planned.”
Calling out his own players publicly isn’t easy, and many think Jaissle should take some blame for Monday’s loss. Now, the club and fans are hoping for a strong reaction at Craven Cottage.