It was a decision which raised a few eyebrows among Newcastle United fans, but one that was justified given the horror 25 minutes which had preceded it. Eddie Howe made his final change in the 70th minute of Sunday's thrashing at Tottenham, replacing Chris Wood with captain Jamaal Lascelles.
Time and time again in the second half, Antonio Conte's side were able to slice through the Magpies' defence and midfield to score four times. The 5-1 scoreline somewhat flattered Newcastle by the full-time whistle, with the hosts spurning several glorious openings to pile on further misery.
The Magpies were three goals adrift by the time Howe opted to withdraw his only recognised striker, and revert to a back five. Substitute Jacob Murphy seemed to join Allan Saint-Maximin in attack, although Newcastle's shape in the closing stages was hard to discern.
Howe's decision to introduce Lascelles in and of itself was not confusing, given the porous nature of his backline and the need for damage limitation. Yet while the game was theoretically still in the balance, the head coach's decision not to call upon his only striking alternative was illuminating.
Dwight Gayle is yet to make a Premier League start this season, and has featured for just eight minutes in two substitute appearances under Howe so far. The former Newcastle number nine may be impressing in training according to his captain, but this has not translated into starts or meaningful cameos.
The match quickly turned at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, yet there was never a realistic expectation that Newcastle would call upon the 32-year-old. But despite being a bit-part player for several seasons now, the Magpies remain just one Wood injury away from Gayle being their only recognised senior striker.
Gayle's last goal in black-and-white came back in December 2020, and aside from a renaissance during Project Restart, the former Crystal Palace striker has been on the fringes at St James' Park for the last four seasons. There is no indication of any unrest from either side behind the scenes, despite Sunday's no-show making it 23 appearances this term as an unused substitute for the forward.
It was not only Howe's in-game decisions which exemplified Gayle's current lowly status in the pecking order. The head coach's decision to drop Bruno Guimaraes to the bench was taken because of his exploits on international duty with Brazil.
This was not an action Howe felt he could take with Wood, who himself featured four times during the two-week break with New Zealand. The 30-year-old made his 11th consecutive start in black-and-white since his January arrival from Burnley, and there are no questions being raised over his continued selection despite scoring just once so far.
Newcastle badly miss Callum Wilson, with the former Bournemouth man still leading the scoring charts despite being sidelined with injury since the end of December. The striker has proven he has the quality to handle the goalscoring burden at St James' Park, but his record in black-and-white and with his previous clubs have proven the Magpies can not solely rely on the England international.
The nature of Newcastle's second-half collapse and Howe's subsequent tinkering has raised questions over the tactical approach, with Sky Sports pundit David Ginola urging the head coach to start 'from scratch'. But with an injury-prone top scorer, Joelinton's transformation and an out-of-favour backup, Howe's options at the top end of the pitch are extremely limited.
Reports of a £60m summer budget if Premier League survival is secured has generated debate from fans and pundits alike in recent weeks. It is a total which could be supplemented should Howe succeed in securing exits for several fringe stars.
Newcastle need to strengthen across the board in order to work towards the owners' lofty ambitions. But the attack is where the priority should lie, given the midfield displays of late and the defensive improvement barring Sunday's capitulation.
It is an area which Howe has already clearly identified, given the failed deadline-day bid for Reims' forward Hugo Ekitike. The French teenager turned down the approach, and it is unclear whether Newcastle will try again in the summer.
Benfica striker Darwin Nunez is another name which continues to be linked, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Alexander Isak among a host of other targets reportedly interesting the Magpies. Recent results should not detract from the huge strides Newcastle have made under Howe, but they do highlight a key area which the club simply have to strengthen this summer.
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