"A shadow of his former self" - Newcastle player ratings from 0-0 draw at Bournemouth

A tough watch on the South Coast as Newcastle defended well but never looked like scoring in a bore draw away to Bournemouth.

Here are our marks out of 10 from yesterday's game, along with our comments on each player involved:

Starting 11

Pope (7) - A big save in each half preserved yet another clean sheet. Still looks lost coming out of his area or with the ball at his feet but he’s paid to keep the ball out and he’s doing a fine job!

Livramento (7) - Looks more at home on the right and handled his defensive responsibilities well. Made one notable block when he threw himself in front of the ball.

Thiaw (7.5) - Looks the part already. Calm and composed in possession and strong in defence. Propensity for playing it back to Pope which caused heart rates to increase though! Will be hard to dislodge if he keep it up. Hooked due to “fatigue” but realistically he was taken off to avoid a second yellow, which he was lucky to avoid!

Botman (8) - Quality throughout. Took his opportunity with both hands and didn’t put a foot wrong. When he’s on form he makes defending look easy. Dominant, read the play well and played a few nice line-breaking passes out from the back.

Burn (7) - The least impressive of the back three which is not a criticism as they all played well. Solid and dealt with Semenyo well, but a few sloppy giveaways and feels like he should be utilised better off set pieces. Have our set pieces improved with our new coach?

Hall (6.5) - Looked very rusty early on but gradually grew into the game. Will be better for the run and will have more impactful performances

Miley (5.5) - Never quite got a foothold in midfield unfortunately. Seems to be lacking confidence at times. Would love to see him play more freely as the potential is clearly there

Tonali (7) - Carried the heavy lifting in midfield all by himself. Ran his socks off and produced some timely progressive carries to drag the team up the pitch. Undroppable

Willock (4) - A shadow of his former self and was completely ineffective. Was outmuscled on more than one occasion and his usual strong ball carrying has deserted him. Might not start again for a while.

Murphy (6) - Started brightly but then fizzled out as we offered very little in attack. Had a rare shot on target which was too close to Petrovic, opting to go for the near post when the play was surely striking into the far corner. Nowhere near his best but he wasn’t alone.

Woltemade (6) - Showed some neat touches and tried to link the play, but also lost most of his aerial duels and gave up possession on several occasions. We haven’t quite cracked the code on how to best utilise him and could’ve won a penalty if he didn’t go down so theatrically.

Subs

Elanga (5.5) - Made some decent runs but the service in to him was poor which summed up out attacking performance.

Barnes (5.5) - Much like Elanga, didn’t really have an opportunity to show what he could offer in attack. Will likely get some minutes against Bradford to hopefully get his confidence in front of goal back

Osula (NR) - Came on for the last five minutes as Woltemade tired.

Lascelles (NR) - See above. But good to see him make his first Premier League appearance since 2023/24 after a tough spell with injuries.