This one will read like a Villain but it's so hard to review his performance yesterday that it kind of teeters on both, before coming out on the Hero side! After yesterday's game, a friend claimed that Aleksandar Mitrovic had the lot in his locker and he will still be a huge hit on Tyneside. Having watched him all season and particularly yesterday, what he is actually missing from his game are pace, stamina and without a shadow of a doubt... finishing. Now the latter may be down to a lack of confidence but Newcastle fans' hope that the composure he showed in converting the penalty against Man Utd under pressure on Tuesday, reminiscent of the heated desire of Temuri Ketsbia from yesteryear, would lead to more frequency of goals, were sadly mistaken. He did play well yesterday, that is no doubt. His hold up play was one of the stronger and more useful impacts it had been all season and he can make a defense uneasy when he charges at them in an attempt to retrieve the ball. He was commanding up front and a genuine outlet to take the pressure off. He was easily the 5th best player on the pitch for Newcastle. But for a forward to have at least four solid chances squandered yesterday which would have killed off the game was almost criminal and not befitting of a forward carrying the price tag he is. That lack of finishing could have bit Newcastle in the ass had anything gone awry towards the end and Newcastle can't keep affording to burn through chances in the Premier League... otherwise they'll find themselves not in it. In the history of Newcastle, no player has managed to miss as many squared balls with pace where all that would be required to score would be a connection as Mitrovic has.
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.
