Joe Buck takes a look at his top five Newcastle United players of the season. Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali, Dan Burn, Alexander Isak and Jacob Murphy are all included - but where do they rank?
00:00So, as promised, here are my final Newcastle United player ratings of the season.
00:05Now, if you missed my other videos, I've done four videos so far going through every single player to play a minute for Newcastle United this year
00:11from goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and attackers.
00:15So, them four videos are on the Shields, their Facebook page and online.
00:19So, please check those out.
00:20But now I'm going to count down my five top Newcastle United players of the season using them ratings
00:25and see who has been voted my top Newcastle United player of the year.
00:29So, first of all, getting an eight out of ten has to be Jacob Murphy.
00:33Now, Jacob Murphy has been brilliant this year.
00:35Everyone thought when Newcastle United sold Miguel Almiron in January, how much would they miss the Paraguayan?
00:40Of course, he didn't have as great impact in the first team as he has in previous years, Almiron.
00:46But he was a body at right wing and without him in the squad and with injury issues of Callum Wilson,
00:51Willis Sula in his first sort of big main season of football, with just Harvey Barnes, Anthony Gordon and Jacob Murphy,
00:58there was a worry about how Newcastle's front line would get on.
01:02But Murphy made that position his own.
01:05Fantastic goals and assists record.
01:06His link up with Alexander Ezek was brilliant and you have to include him in the team of the year.
01:11Certainly Newcastle's team of the year and in the player of the year conversation because he was brilliant.
01:15He scored some big goals, had some big games and yeah, as much as Newcastle might be looking for a new right winger this summer,
01:23Murphy will stay at the club and will challenge for a starting spot.
01:27So, he's number five for me, eight out of ten.
01:30Now, these are where I've got two nine out of tens.
01:33I was really struggling to pick a fourth option, but my fourth, my number four on this list is Bruno Guimaraes.
01:41Now, he gets a nine out of ten for me.
01:43Bruno's had a brilliant season.
01:44He was, has been excellent all year.
01:47Has he lived up to the high expectations of what he set in previous seasons in Newcastle?
01:51Maybe not, but that's because of one man.
01:53We'll get on to him later.
01:54But yeah, he has had a fantastic season.
01:56And of course, he became the first Newcastle United captain in 70 years to lift a major trophy at Wembley.
02:01And that will put you in any top five, any top three, top five list, sorry.
02:08Yeah, he has been fantastic.
02:10He is Newcastle's leader.
02:12He loves the club.
02:12The club love him.
02:14He's just built for Newcastle United and hopefully there's a long and successful future for Bruno on Tyneside.
02:20Now, third in this list, another nine out of ten, just pitting Bruno.
02:23And because of that one moment is Dan Byrne.
02:25Now, everyone remembers Dan Byrne's goal at Wembley.
02:28He will, you know, that will live forever in the memory, forever in the history books.
02:33But, you know, Byrne wasn't just that moment.
02:35It wasn't just that week where he got the England call-up as well.
02:37Byrne has been brilliant all year.
02:39Really, really good.
02:40You've got to see United needed a leader at the beginning of the season, especially when Fabian Scher got suspended.
02:45Emile Kraft came in alongside Byrne and them two were fantastic.
02:48And when they needed their defenders to stay fit without Sven Botman for most of the season, Jamala Sells for all the season, Byrne has been there.
02:55Not just fit and consistent, but game after game, constant seven, eight out of ten performances.
03:01You never leave a match thinking Byrne's dropped below them standards.
03:05He's been absolute colossus, I think I described in my previous video.
03:08And he absolutely was all year.
03:09And for me, he deserved nine out of ten.
03:11And deservedly third place on this list.
03:12Now, we've got two ten out of tens to decide from for the player of the year.
03:18I think I've gone back and forward between these two for a while, but I think I've settled on my rankings.
03:26So, number two position for me this year has been Sandro Tonali.
03:32Yeah, he obviously started the season suspended, didn't get his first appearance until the end of August in the Carabao Cup.
03:39And ever since November, he's been absolutely sensational.
03:41It took a while to get into the team and to find his role in the team as half six.
03:45But since he's, you know, been given a run of games in sort of November, December, he's never looked back.
03:50He's phenomenal.
03:51One of the best signings Newcastle United have made.
03:55Recently, of course, we all remember, we all know he was banned for ten months and that was, you know, that wasn't the club's fault.
04:01But since he's come back and the impact he's made on the team, it's been absolutely sensational.
04:06I don't think Newcastle United would have got anywhere near Champions League football had Tonali not been in the team.
04:10They certainly wouldn't have got, they certainly wouldn't have been in the conversation on the last eight season, I know, the loss, without him.
04:17And yeah, it was absolutely, he's been just a breath of fresh air.
04:20He's just been brilliant this year.
04:22And probably the envy of many Premier League teams, if not all of them.
04:25I think Sandro Tonali probably gets into the midfield of every single Premier League team and probably most teams in world football.
04:31So yeah, Tonali 10 out of 10 and it's just pipped in my list by Alexander Izak.
04:36It has to be Izak.
04:37I would love to be a hipster and say Tonali for this reason and that or Dan Byrne.
04:42But realistically, Newcastle United get nowhere near the success they've had in any competition this year without Izak's goals.
04:49You think about Wembley, he scored the crucial second goal against Liverpool to lift the Carabao Cup.
04:54He scored numerous goals in big games in the Premier League to get them up to the Champions League places.
05:01He had a disappointing end of the season, of course, as injuries hit.
05:04But, you know, he sort of earned the right to have a couple of games off, a couple of weeks off because of the work he's done throughout.
05:11You know, you just know when a chance falls to him that he's going to put it away.
05:14And if he doesn't put that chance away, he'll put the next one away or he'll create something.
05:17And as I said before, his link up with Murphy has been brilliant and he's just a magnificent player.
05:22Newcastle United are so lucky to have him.
05:23And for me, he has to be player of the year.
05:2527 goals in all competitions.
05:27That's a tally that, you know, will rank up there with the very, very best in Newcastle United's history
05:33and any striker he'll compare to in their history.
05:35And if they can keep hold of him this summer, which I feel like they will do,
05:39then he could even exceed that next year.
05:42You know, they've got eight Champions League games at least to play.
05:45You can see him scoring a few in that competition.
05:48And of course, we'd like to go deep in cup competitions.
05:50So, yeah, absolutely Alexander Izak player of the year for me.
05:53Very close between him and Tenali.
05:55But Alexander Izak just gets it for me.
05:57I would love to hear who your player of the season was.
05:59And if you agree with my rankings, please let me know below on this video on Facebook.
06:05And please, you know, interact with me on social media.
06:07And on mine and my colleague Dom Scurs articles on the Shields Gazette website, but for you.
06:13Just a quick run through on my player ratings.
06:15Number five, Jacob Murphy.
06:17Number four, Bruno Guimaraes.
06:18Third, Dan Byrne.
06:20Second, Sandro Tenali.
06:21And top, Alexander Izak.
06:23And of course, please stay up to date with all the latest Newcastle United news.
06:26And across what will be a really busy summer at St James' Park,
06:29the best way to stay up to date with all that is, of course, with the Shields Gazette.
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