Miguel Almiron’s unhappy reaction to being subbed off in Newcastle United's nil-nil draw with Crystal Palace should be viewed as the forward showing the ‘ruthlessness’ he has sometimes lacked while on Tyneside. Almiron was replaced by Jacob Murphy in the 70th minute and looked far from happy to be leaving the pitch.
Looking first shocked and then disgruntled, Almiron took a slow walk from the right-hand side of the pitch before Toon boss Eddie Howe had to gesture for him to move quicker and finally exit the turf. His reaction has been hailed as a positive for Howe with our Newcastle United editor Aaron Stokes believing that it shows a desire to play every moment is not a bad thing.
“I loved his reaction,” Stokes said on The Everything is Black and White Podcast, “yes, he should have run off but he needs to be more ruthless on the pitch so it was nice to see him come off thinking ‘I should be staying on here,’ and we need more of that from Almiron.”
