The renaissance of Miguel Almiron

Things you love to see:

·       Wor Flags’ displays before each match
·       The team photos after a win
·       Three points on the board

…and Miguel Almiron reborn.

The smiliest man in football sits at the top of our scorers list and is absolutely in the mix for our best player so far this season.

The Brentford game epitomised his brilliance this season and he even took it to the next level. The man was everywhere, the lynchpin of the team. Bruno is deservedly getting plaudits for another blinding performance, but I’m really enjoying seeing an unleashed Almiron too.

He’s proving the naysayers – both the likes of Grealish and even some of our own supporters – wrong so far this season. And let’s not forget this is following a scintillating pre-season, of which we weren’t even sure he’d see through in a black and white shirt.

The player has come under a lot of criticism in his time at Newcastle United. Not enough goals, no end product, workhorse that does nothing. And while it’s true that he hasn’t always been in this incredible form, the criticism has been too harsh at times.

The majority of his career at Newcastle has been under Steve Bruce, a so-called manager who kept him camped in his own half despite his ability to burst forward out of nowhere. I’d argue for days that his end product (goals aside) has never been that poor, but his target man was another who’d been pushed out of position and forced to play the role of a number 9 when his talents lay elsewhere.

His immediate impact on the team when he joined is too easily forgotten. One simple signing in Almiron allowed Rafa to completely change the way we played. One player opened us up and allowed us to play more free-flowing, attacking football compared to the more conservative play that Rafa had mastered far better than his successor. Almiron’s combination with Rondon and Perez was sublime – the three were telepathic between one another.

A lot of issues have come down to where and how Almiron has been played. He was stifled under Bruce, but still showed glimpses of what he’s capable of doing. In a front three with Rondon and Perez, he was sublime.

In a front three under Howe too, he shines. He’s been given more free reign again, and that’s when he plays his best football. There was barely an inch of the pitch he didn’t cover last week and it was a joy to watch.

But another key difference is confidence. He’s always had the ability – and he showed that in by improving the team’s goalscoring abilities. In his first 5 starts, we scored 9, compared to 22 in the 26 previous games. We also had an average of over 17 shots on target a game, and Almiron created an average of 2.24 chances a game – the most of any player. That’s not coincidence.

We saw a lot of players’ confidence dip under Bruce and understandably so. When you’re pinned into your own half, effectively with your wings clipped, you know you’re going to struggle to put in a memorable performance.

In a similar vein to Joelinton, Howe has brought a talented player from a place of low confidence to feeling – and playing – unbeatable.

Burn said he’s unplayable. He can do ‘magical things’, says Howe. He deserves flowers, according to Ian Wright. He’s one of our best players, says Jose Enrique.

They’re all right. And all of these things were true at times of Almiron previously.

But the difference now is a coach who knows how to play to his strengths, how to boost his confidence, and how to deploy a side and tactics that allow him to do what he does best.
Let’s not forget his defensive work too. For a small, slight player, he’s not afraid to throw himself around in defence. He saved Schar early in the second half of the Brentford game when he lost his man.

This all contributes to a well-rounded player – one with very clear strengths in going forward, but with the sense to know when to drop back and an awareness of overall defending. You could say he initially lacked that, although has progressively got better at it since joining.

In a five-month period of so many highs, so much joy, there was one moment that stood out to me. Miggy waving a flag during the pitch walkaround after Arsenal last season. Knowing that might have been the last time we saw him at St James broke my heart.The renaissance of Miguel Almiron
Things you love to see:

·       Wor Flags’ displays before each match
·       The team photos after a win
·       Three points on the board

…and Miguel Almiron reborn.

The smiliest man in football sits at the top of our scorers list and is absolutely in the mix for our best player so far this season.

The Brentford game epitomised his brilliance this season and he even took it to the next level. The man was everywhere, the lynchpin of the team. The maestro. Bruno is deservedly getting plaudits for another blinding performance, but I’m really enjoying seeing an unleashed Almiron too.

He’s proving the naysayers – both the likes of Grealish and even some of our own supporters – wrong so far this season. And let’s not forget this is following a scintillating pre-season, of which we weren’t even sure he’d see through in a black and white shirt.

The player has come under a lot of criticism in his time at Newcastle United. Not enough goals, no end product, workhorse that does nothing.
And while it’s true that he hasn’t always been in this incredible form, the criticism has been too harsh at times.

The majority of his career at Newcastle has been under Steve Bruce, a so-called manager who kept him camped in his own half despite his ability to burst forward out of nowhere. I’d argue for days that his end product (goals aside) has never been that poor, but his target man was another who’d been pushed out of position and forced to play the role of a number 9 when his talents lay elsewhere.

His immediate impact on the team when he joined is too easily forgotten. One simple signing in Almiron allowed Rafa to completely change the way we played. One player opened us up and allowed us to play more free-flowing, attacking football compared to the more conservative play that Rafa had mastered far better than his successor. Almiron’s combination with Rondon and Perez was sublime – the three were telepathic between one another.

A lot of issues have come down to where and how Almiron has been played. He was stifled under Bruce, but still showed glimpses of what he’s capable of doing. In a front three with Rondon and Perez, he was sublime.

In a front three under Howe too, he shines. He’s been given more free reign again, and that’s when he plays his best football. There was barely an inch of the pitch he didn’t cover last week and it was a joy to watch.

But another key difference is confidence. He’s always had the ability – and he showed that in the entire team’s improved stats in 2018-19 after joining, where we something like doubled the goals we scored and had an average of over 17 shots on target a game. That’s not coincidence.

We saw a lot of players’ confidence dip under Bruce and understandably so. When you’re pinned into your own half, effectively with your wings clipped, you know you’re going to struggle to put in a memorable performance.

In a similar vein to Joelinton, Howe has brought a talented player from a place of low confidence to feeling – and playing – unbeatable.

Burn said he’s unplayable. He can do ‘magical things’, says Howe. He deserves flowers, according to Ian Wright. He’s one of our best players, says Jose Enrique.

They’re all right. And all of these things were true at times of Almiron previously.

But the difference now is a coach who knows how to play to his strengths, how to boost his confidence, and how to deploy a side and tactics that allow him to do what he does best.
Let’s not forget his defensive work too. For a small, slight player, he’s not afraid to throw himself around in defence. He saved Schar early in the second half of the Brentford game when he lost his man.

This all contributes to a well-rounded player – one with very clear strengths in going forward, but with the sense to know when to drop back and an awareness of overall defending. You could say he initially lacked that, although has progressively got better at it since joining.

In a five-month period of so many highs, so much joy, there was one moment that stood out to me. Miggy waving a flag during the pitch walkaround after Arsenal last season. Knowing that might have been the last time we saw him at St James broke my heart.

It’s easy to peg Almiron fans as overly sentimental. I’ve defended him for his entire Newcastle career and I won’t stop. Do I feel vindicated at the moment? A bit, aye.

But personalities like Almiron are going to be important alongside great form. We won’t – and realistically can’t – take City’s approach of throwing money around and buying a team of talented prima donnas. And that’s when personality and attitude really shine through.

He’s always had that. And now he has the form that he’s always been capable of achieving, but with the support system that enables it.

Viva Miggy Almiron.

It’s easy to peg Almiron stans as overly sentimental. I’ve defended him for his entire Newcastle career and I won’t stop. Do I feel vindicated at the moment? A bit, aye.

But personalities like Almiron are going to be important alongside great form. We won’t – and realistically can’t – take City’s approach of throwing money around and buying a team of talented prima donnas. And that’s when personality and attitude really shine through.

He’s always had that. And now he has the form that he’s always been capable of achieving, but with the support system that enables it.

Viva Miggy Almiron.