Newcastle United supporters defend 'anonymous' 3/10 star after Matthias Jaissle warning
Matias Fernandez-Pardo made his first start for Newcastle United in a 4-1 defeat at Leeds United on Monday night.
It was a case of ‘welcome to English football’ for new Newcastle United signing Matias Fernandez-Pardo on Monday night.
The 21-year-old was handed his first start since his £51million deadline-day transfer from Lille. The forward was labelled as a ‘top target’ by Newcastle sporting director Ross Wilson upon securing his signature.
And with a lack of options in the striker position, there’s an opportunity for Fernandez-Pardo to make a big impression on Tyneside.
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But that impression will have to wait after a difficult debut down at Leeds United. The Belgian international had just 19 touches of the ball in 57 minutes on the pitch leading the line and failed to register a shot or touch inside the penalty area as Newcastle fell to a 4-1 defeat. A stark contrast from the player who registered the most touches of any Ligue 1 player last season.
Our Shields Gazette player ratings branded the new signing ‘anonymous’ with a score of 3/10. There was a recognition that Matthias Jaissle’s system, which was largely reduced to playing long balls forward in an attempt for Fernandez-Pardo to latch on to, limited the player to trying to play on the shoulder and ultimately making very little impact.
The young forward has publicly spoken of his desire to play as a central striker, but in order to do that at Newcastle in the Premier League, Jaissle will need to change things up to accommodate the players he has. Fernandez-Pardo’s pace and physical profile seem more in keeping with a winger, something many fans were quick to point out after the match.
While United have made a reasonable start to the season on the whole, Monday’s defeat exposed several flaws that had been threatening to cause problems in the games leading up to the trip to Elland Road. There’s a vulnerability to the side that can be exposed and exploited by physical teams capable of bullying Newcastle’s young side.
It’s hard to judge Fernandez-Pardo individually on one game where he barely touched the ball, but Newcastle’s set-up lacks control in midfield and risks isolating him should he continue to play up front.
NUFC fans react to Fernandez-Pardo debut
When asked to sum up the Belgian’s full debut, Shields Gazette readers were largely pragmatic with their assessment.
“The guy has had minimal time with the team, no chance to gel yet,” wrote Tony Reynolds. “Remember Anthony Gordon, Lewis Hall and Bruno Guimaraes?They all took time to bed in and they didn’t turn out too bad.”
Matthew Railton said: “Impossible to judge him when we barely left our own half!”
While James Brown questioned: “Did anyone actually pass him the ball? All I saw was it being lumped long and him having to work off scraps.”
It’s also important to caveat Fernandez-Pardo’s debut coming on the back of a lack of a pre-season at Lille and limited game-time at the World Cup with Belgium.
Jaissle said last week: “We need to be careful with such a young player, who didn't play now for a long time, over 90 minutes, so therefore we see him almost like in a pre-season at the moment.
“We take that slowly and step-by-step.”