Jack14Bojangles

Woltemade needs to make more of it in the box now

You know your stuff. I can confirm that 100%.

I'll learn. I got the streaming subscription this year because of Wirtz and Liverpool, and then, after Big Nick became a Toon, I switched sides with great enthusiasm. Meanwhile, I've grown very disliked for Liverpool. There's no team on the pitch, just a bunch of individualists who think they're the greatest. Awful.

I'll probably manage to come to that realization, but I have a problem with the tattoo, as my wife would kill me.

Someday I'd love to stand in the fan section with you crazy, friendly Geordies. Maybe I'll even make it to the SJP before I kick the bucket. If any of you are ever in Hamburg, let me know and we can grab a beer and I'll show you around.

I'm trying to improve.

Grimaldo is Leverkusen's best player. We have to keep an eye on him.

The line-up: Bayer 04 Leverkusen Flekken - Quansah, Andrich, Tapsoba - Maza, Aleix Garcia, Arthur, M. Tillman, Grimaldo, Poku - Schick

When Mertesacker and his generation were still playing, I was a Werder Bremen fan in Germany. Internationally, however, my heart also beat for Bayern Munich, and it still does today.

Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen. I live just outside Hamburg.

The lineup: Newcastle United Ramsdale - Livramento, Thiaw, Burn, Hall - Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton - Barnes, Woltemade, Gordon

I wish all the Geordies who traveled to Leverkusen a wonderful evening. Hopefully with a victory for Toon. Enjoy the German beer. And I hope you only meet friendly Germans and no aggressive hooligans like in Marseille. So that you leave with fond memories of Germany.

Well, shouldn't I, as a German, actually be supporting Leverkusen? But I'm supporting Toon.

I'll be sitting in front of the TV again today, wearing my Newcastle jersey and drinking a beer. Somehow, ever since Big Nick started playing here, my heart has been with Newcastle. That's why I'll be rooting for Toon. Does that make me a traitor?

I can hardly believe Isak was supposed to be so good at Newcastle. At Liverpool, apart from that one goal last week, he hasn't achieved anything at all. He's so bad that I have to laugh at Liverpool paying €145 million for this unlikeable player.

Article in today's Kicker, Germany's leading sports magazine: When Leverkusen host Newcastle, all eyes will be on Nick Woltemade. Coach Kasper Hjulmand and defender Jarell Quansah see the England striker as a key factor, especially since he creates situations that caused Bayer major problems in their 2-0 defeat in Augsburg. When Bayer 04 host Newcastle United in the Champions League on Wednesday evening (9 p.m. CET, LIVE! on kicker), all eyes will naturally be on German international striker Nick Woltemade in the Magpies' ranks. This also applies to Leverkusen defender Jarell Quansah, for whom the duel with the former Stuttgart player represents a rematch from the summer, when he faced Woltemade and England in the final of the U-21 European Championship on June 28th. The England international would like to follow up Wednesday's 3-2 victory in the final in Bratislava, Slovakia, with another win. This would open the door wide for him and Bayer 04 to the Champions League round of 16. To achieve this, it will be crucial for him and his defensive teammates to limit Woltemade's freedom of movement. The 1.98-meter-tall striker is a key factor in Newcastle's game, especially because he is no ordinary striker. "He's unorthodox, like Peter Crouch used to be a traditional striker. He's tall, can hold the ball well, and is strong in the penalty area," Quansah Woltemade lists his obvious qualities, but adds: "But I feel he has much more to offer than that. He's a really good player we need to watch out for." Quansah's manager describes Woltemade's abilities and the resulting tactical possibilities for the Magpies with almost admiration. "I'm very impressed with him. You sometimes don't realize how technically gifted he is. He's technically better than he appears and is very dangerous in the penalty area," says Kasper Hjulmand, explaining why Woltemade is so difficult to contain: "He often drops back into midfield. He holds onto the ball well. And that creates space for the wingers to make a lot of runs behind him." A tactical maneuver that, incidentally, caused the Werkself problems in a similar form on Saturday in their 0-2 defeat in Augsburg, when both goals were scored by Augsburg wing-back Dimitrios Giannoulis, who scored the first goal and assisted the second, cutting inside the Bayer defense on the right side. Only when Hjulmand brought on the speedy Quansah on the right side of the back three at halftime were Bayer able to contain this Augsburg tactic. That Hjulmand's praise for the giant's ball skills isn't just a token gesture is demonstrated by the 53-year-old when he explicitly highlights Woltemade's ball dexterity once again. Like the former Liverpool striker and England international Crouch, who stands at an impressive 2.01 meters, Woltemade, at 1.98 meters, is lanky, but despite his physique, he possesses considerable finesse. A quality that Hjulmand rates extremely highly. "I believe that at this height there aren't many players who also possess the technical skills he has," the former Danish national coach praises the Newcastle striker. Bayer Leverkusen must prevent these opportunities from unfolding, as Quansah knows from his time as an U-21 international. "I also played against him at the European Championship this summer. Of course, we analyzed him extensively back then," says the 22-year-old, 1.90-meter-tall Quansah. "He's a player you have to keep an eye on because he has many qualities. A large part of Newcastle's game runs through him; he can massively influence matches." Quansah, by the way, doesn't see any advantage in his experience against Woltemade from the U-21 European Championship final. "It's a completely different competition. And we're probably in two completely different situations now. As a young player, you improve quite a lot within five or six months, in my opinion. To say that he's the same player and I'm the same player wouldn't be fair to either of us," says Quansah, who has since become a full international. "It's a new challenge and something we're ready for." The crucial point, from his perspective, is not to focus too much on the opponent. "Like any top team in the Champions League, you're up against top players," says Quansah. "It's not about concentrating too much on them, but on what we do. And that's exactly what we'll try to do on Wednesday." Without, of course, neglecting the unorthodox Woltemade.

Lennart Karl, 17 years old, what a fantastic talent from Bayern Munich. He scored another brilliant goal today, and has found the net in each of his last three Champions League matches. This boy is going to be a truly great player.

Article in today's Kicker, Germany's leading sports magazine: For the first time since his move to Newcastle, Nick Woltemade will face a German team again. Ahead of the Champions League match in Leverkusen, the striker spoke about his bad memories of their upcoming opponent – and received special praise from his coach. On the way to the press conference, Eddie Howe and Nick Woltemade apparently had a lot of fun. "I just had the pleasure of spending half an hour with him," Newcastle's coach said on Tuesday afternoon in Leverkusen. He asked his striker about the Bundesliga and the German mentality, Howe said – but above all, they had a good laugh. "He has a great sense of British humor," the Englishman praised the Bremen native. "That was one of the first things I noticed about him. He came to us and immediately felt at home with his unique sense of humor. He makes people laugh here." Woltemade later called it "the nicest compliment you can get." He wanted to be an "entertainer on the pitch," the new signing from Stuttgart explained before Wednesday's Champions League match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen (9 p.m. CET, LIVE! on kicker). "What makes me happiest is when people are happy to see me play." After his phenomenal months at VfB Stuttgart, Woltemade has now achieved that in Newcastle as well. He has scored six goals in all competitions for his new club so far – and if it were up to coach Howe, there could have been more. But that's not down to Woltemade himself. "We need to create more for him," he demanded of his team. "He's been very good with the chances he's had. Now we need to be better as a team." Woltemade, he added, "has much more to offer" than what he's shown so far. "He's good with the ball at his feet, and has quick feet for such a fast player." However, there are still some aspects of the interplay between Woltemade and the rest of the team that are still developing. "As a team, we still need to get used to how he likes to receive the ball and what kind of runs he prefers to make," Howe explained. He therefore described it as "the only disappointment with him" that, due to Woltemade's late transfer and the team's many matches, the actual training sessions with the German striker have suffered over the past three months. "My only disappointment with him is that I haven't been able to train with him as much as I would have liked," he explained. According to Howe, there are still some areas where they need to work with him. "That would be the fastest way to bring about the development in his game that we want. Until then, we're doing a lot of analysis with him and discussing things we can put in the back of his mind." Woltemade himself saw his progress in other areas. "I've improved the most physically," he explained. "I can sprint more, get into more tackles, which is very important in the Premier League." Howe and the team also made him feel "that I can always score a goal, that the ball will come even if I don't touch it for a few minutes." ...

Nick's just not having much luck lately. All his goals have been fantastic. He could have scored two or three more if his shots hadn't been cleared off the line by outfield players. That happened again today. At least he had an assist today, and some very good attacking passes were also on the cards. And I disagree with the statement that he lacks physicality. He's developed brilliantly in just a few months. In the first half today, he snatched the ball from a Tottenham player near the corner flag with a clean tackle.

At the start of the game, Hall should have played him a short pass in the box instead of shooting himself. That would certainly have resulted in a goal. Hall should sometimes look up and see better-positioned players.

Yes, he deserved it. I don't know why the PL took so long. You can see he deliberately targeted Bruno.

I completely agree with you. That's not good for my heart.

Today's perceived defeat has really upset me. I'm absolutely furious. How many games have we led and still thrown away the points? What's wrong with our players? We're always on tenterhooks, hoping they can hold onto a lead. This has really ruined the next few days for me.

Burn looked very stiff on both goals conceded. Like an old man.

Yes. Pope is better on the line. I'm sure, he hold the ball.