Baffling Sandro Tonali decision must change as Newcastle United's 'untouchables' in danger


Wimbledon was all about hot head McEnroe and cool Borg, strawberries and cream, until it became about the Crazy Gang and Joe Kinnear with Vinny Jones nipping Gazza in the bud. Now it's League Two against Premier League in a Tuesday night cup tie.

It is also about dreams. Not just the dreams of a spectacular giant killing for the hosts but the even more important dreams of domestic silverware for a historic club which once back in the fifties owned Wembley but for 69 years has remained on the outside looking in with envious eyes pressed against the window of opportunity.

Dreams? It was a nightmare at Fulham where Newcastle lost for the first time this season and deservedly so. They need to get back on track double quick with champions Manchester City coming up this weekend at a rapid rate of knots.

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It's a tricky meeting for the Mags. Eddie Howe can shuffle his pack but not too much because he cannot afford to be a Las Vegas gambler. The tie has to be won on the night, no replays, just as he got through the last round at Nottingham Forest on a penalty shoot out. Victory is needed to appease status and also quickly bolster morale because while results had been fine up to Craven Cottage performances certainly have not been throughout all the games.

So what needs sorting? Well players can no longer be protected by reputation. Maybe Bruno Guimaraes has been anointed as skipper for this campaign but his form has alarmingly dipped not just at Fulham but progressively match by match. He has been criticised back home in Brazil for his international failings and now alarm bells are ringing here. Guimaraes inexplicably passed the ball from wide across the face of his own goal for Fulham's third when United were chasing an equaliser while his all-round play was sloppy, he got his pocket pinched repeatedly, and his lack of pace is becoming alarmingly exposed time and again. Opponents are simply running away from him as Joao Gomes did on Wolves' goal at Molineux.

Bruno's much-vaunted Brazilian mate Joelinton has also fell off the end of the pier early season and was hooked yet again at Fulham.

The moment has come for them both to be pulled from the starting line up in favour of certainly Sandro Tonali and yes Sean Longstaff. Frankly I don't know why Tonali is being held back. If the excuse is that he played two 90 minutes for Italy during international fortnight and must be handled carefully after a 10-month ban then he has shown no signs of either fatigue or a wish for a gentle ride. There are fifty two million reasons why Tonali needs to be given a chance to come to United's rescue and at the same time announce his return to the big stage.

The Italian's only start this season was in the Carabao Cup at Forest and it would be an insult to a quality technician if he was started again only because it was the same competition which encourages change. He needs to use Wimbledon to warm up for Man City - if Italy started him twice within days on the international stage and hailed his return with gushing words about getting back their quality then surely he can have the same impact at club level.

The Magpies simply cannot afford to square up to City on the back of two successive away defeats in 72 hours especially as it would include a Carabao Cup exit to a League Two side.

Howe has big decisions to make this week because while on paper his depth of talent looks impressive on performances it most certainly is not. Very few players are showing consistency while the intensity of their play has all but disappeared. Why? Only those who know what goes on in the inner sanctum and on the training pitch can venture reasons.

It is not a matter of one of his blue chip players being off form, which can easily happen, so many are nowhere near their full power which suggests collectively things are different from what they were.

Bruno and Big Joe are off the radar but then Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak are nothing like the big beasts so coveted by those with a Champions League programme that United have been scrambling around trying to produce golden handcuffs through new much improved contracts. Gordon's body language is alarming in stark contrast to last season.

Back in the day I lived in Wimbledon when I worked Fleet Street and film legend Oliver Reed used to straddle the bar of my local, often as not trouserless, but my heart has always remained at home on the banks of the Tyne. Therefore I would love nothing better than to sicken the locals as wild man Oliver did back then with his tedious outrage that was loved by visitors but not those subjected to it on a regular basis.

McEnroe and Borg, Vinnie Jones and Kinnear, Oliver Reed and his trousers. Let us make it about Geordies and those who represent us. The League Cup matters. Can we beat two appearances in the final and two defeats?