Mike Williamson and Daryl Janmaat's idiotic red-cards in today's 3-0 loss against Leicester City capped off the latest miserable chapter in the extraordinary self-destruction of Newcastle United in 2015. Trying to figure out what was going on in the minds of both players to make rash, pointless, no-win challenges when the game was so far beyond us is a frustrating puzzle, though hapless boss John Carver certainly has his theories in the case of Williamson. He said after the game;
I thought to myself, he (Williamson) has done that on purpose. There was no need to make the tackle, he has now got a two match ban with three games left. I dont knowis it an easy way out?
Was it really the coward's way out? Probably not. Just a case of a player so far beyond the required levels of the Premier League being utterly frustrated with how Jamie Vardy had played him off the park for an hour. It could have happened in the 4th game of the season just as easy as the 4th from the end. But as stupid as Carver's needless and possible public defamation of Williamson's character was, it becomes almost fruitless to consider it for too long when almost every player in a black-and-white shirt has given a cowardly performance in game after game of this miserable run that is becoming a perfect storm of the club sinking to its second relegation in six years. With early reports that Paul Dummett has aggravated his injury further and could be a doubt for next week's crucial home game against West Brom, you could be forgiven for failing to name a possible Newcastle back four at 3pm, St. James' Park next Saturday. Though there is a potential solution that many may have forgotten who could be handed a sensational Magpies debut in the unlikeliest of incredible scenarios. You may recall last summer Newcastle signing two Englishman from Nottingham Forest in goalkeeper Karl Darlow and defender Jamaal Lascelles, and immediately loaning them back for the season. But with their Championship campaign ending today and 21-year-old defender Lascelles having no more scheduled games to fullfill for Forest, an amazing scenario could see him join up with training with his Newcastle United colleagues for the first time, in theory, next week. Although Newcastle did not include Lascelles in their 25-man squad for this season's Premier League campaign, he would, in theory, be eligible to play for Newcastle United as he meets the criteria of being Under-21 at the start of the campaign... the same reason why the likes of Oliver Kemen and Jamie Sterry have been seen on the bench recently for the Toon but weren't included in the Magpies' original 25. It's currently unclear as to when Lacelles' loan deal with Forest actually runs out and whether he would be expected to finish more dates at the club before going back to Newcastle in June/July, but the smart money seems to be on him being available for United. Reports from Forest fans this season have suggested that Lascelles' performances have shown promise (more so than Darlow's) and given the fact he has more senior competitive experience than any of Newcastle's youngsters, he could find himself firmly in the firing line for one of the most important fixtures in the recent history of the club. A centre-half by nature, Lascelles could potentially find himself lined up alongside captain Fabricio Coloccini on Saturday if Dummett doesn't pass fit, in a game where not conceding could be the difference between survival and oblivion... something that would have seemed unthinkable just a few short weeks ago. If nothing else, surely he can't be any worse than Mike Williamson? For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow WhatCultureNUFC on Twitter and Facebook.
Matt Holmes is the co-founder of What Culture, formerly known as Obsessed With Film. He has been blogging about pop culture and entertainment since 2006 and has written over 10,000 articles.
