NUFC player ratings vs Forest – Two awful 3s, several 4s, the odd 5, a few 6s and one 7

A concerning performance and another damaging result for Newcastle United, as Eddie Howe’s Mags lost 3-1 to Nottingham Forest thanks to a Chris Wood hat-trick. Here’s our marks out of 10 from a day full of awful displays:

Martin Dubravka – 5 – Has conceded more in December than Pope has since May. Defence nowhere near as confident with him in goal. Got floored twice by Chris Wood for the goals, failing to make himself big enough. Three saves but rarely looks convincing.

Kieran Trippier – 4 – Caught out of position several times in the second half and had so many lapses, which is generally so unlike him. Concentration seems to have gone, with loose passes and weak defending. Looks a shadow of his former self and can hopefully get back to his best ASAP.

Sven Botman – 4 – Bullied by Wood all afternoon, losing several aerial duels – which is unlike him – and looking a yard off the pace. His first start in three months. Some nice passes into midfield but really struggled defensively.

Fabian Schar – 4 – Went wandering a few times and was way off his best, both on and off the ball. Booked for a series of fouls and cut a very frustrated figure.

Dan Burn – 3 – Horrible afternoon for the Blyth man. Looked extremely slow out of possession, with Elanga leaving him for dead on several occasions and Wood going past him way too easily. Hooked just before the hour. Offered so little going forwards, too.

Bruno Guimaraes – 6 – Tried to make things happen and showed some stunning touches and flicks in the first half, but Gibbs-White did an unbelievable job at frustrating him and limiting his influence on the match after his bright start.

Lewis Miley – 7* – A bright spark on a bad afternoon. Carried the ball with confidence, showed composure in possession and played a lovely pass into Isak for the penalty. Lost the ball in an awful area in the opening two minutes but wasn’t punished.

Sean Longstaff – 4 – A complete bystander in the game. Forgot he was playing at times. Lacks the physicality to play in midfield without Joelinton. Caught on the half-turn a few times, giving it away in bad areas. Hasn’t looked the same player since returning from injury and may need to build match sharpness.

Miguel Almiron – 3 – Horrible afternoon again for the Paraguayan playing his 33rd game of the season already. Looked one dimensional going forward and made the wrong decision on many occasions. Nearly scored an own goal at his own end also with a horrible clearance.

Anthony Gordon – 5 – Huffed and puffed but looks absolutely shattered and is definitely nursing some injuries. Tried to get things going but faded.

Alexander Isak – 6.5 – Really bright in the first half running at the Forest defence and creating chances. Won the penalty with a smart turn from a beautiful Miley pass. Despatched the penalty with ease. Tried to get us going in the second half with some brilliant dribbling.

Substitutes:

Callum Wilson – 5 – Didn’t offer a great deal after coming off the bench. Hold up play needs to improve.

Joelinton – 6 – Brought physicality into our play, roughing the Forest players up but was too little too late.

Tino Livramento – 5 – Should’ve started the game as gives us so much more going forward compared with Burn.

Lewis Hall – N/A – Put himself about.