After Jacob Murphy scored his second goal for Sheffield Wednesday last weekend, I thought I’d have a look at what Owls fans were saying about him on social media.
If there was ever a time they’d be more positive about the NUFC loanee, I thought it may have been evident here, but what I found was pretty concerning from a Newcastle perspective.
One theme that emerged was the amount of fans criticising the lack of effort he’s putting in, with many suggesting he looks like he doesn’t want to be there.
Here’s some fan responses to a Sheffield Star article, which sees the NUFC loanee assess his ‘tough’ start to the season:
“Put more effort in when you’re on the pitch & look like you want to be there then…SIMPLE!”
“Try Harder then simple solution”
“He doesn’t look like he’s enjoying it. On or off the pitch. I think that’s been part of the problem in the relationship between him and the fans. Not only have his performances been below average but he looks like he doesn’t want to be here.”
“If you believe you belong in a premier league side, you should be ripping the championship apart. He hasn’t. He needs to have a word, along with a few others in the squad, and think what they really want out of their careers.”
“Don’t think he’s actually that poor just seems to lack willing.”
“Very poor player!! Should have signed Rolando Aarons instead”
It’s been clear, both from fan comments and his lack of regular starts, that his loan spell at Hillsborough hasn’t gone particularly well up until now, but this is a real concern.
This is a critical loan move at this stage of his career, with him no longer a youngster and surely reaching that make or break stage of his Newcastle career as a result, so a failure to work hard is surely inexcusable.
He’s got pace, but showed a worrying lack of composure or physicality whenever we saw him, and it seems that theme is continuing with Sheffield Wednesday – a place where he should be shining if he’s expecting to get into Steve Bruce’s Premier League plans anytime soon.
Where next for Murphy? It’s tough to say if he continues to struggle, but looking a little bit more interested may be a good start.
