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Top of Championship table awash with Newcastle United links – Incredible keeper stats

3 years ago
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The very top of the Championship table has a massive Newcastle United influence on it.

As you can see below, Norwich City remain top with former NUFC keeper Tim Krul playing a key role, only conceding 24 goals in 30 league games this season, which is the third lowest in the division.

A 2-0 win at Coventry on Wednesday night ensured they stayed top of the table.

The two top scorers in the second tier are both ex-Newcastle United strikers, both scoring but ending up on the losing sides last night.

Ivan Toney moving onto 24 goals in 30 Championship matches this season, whilst Adam Armstrong is now on 19 goals from 28 games.

Toney’s Brentford losing 2-1 at QPR, Armstrong’s Blackburn losing by the same scoreline at Blackburn.

The Championship table on Thursday morning now looking like this:

As you can see, Watford are also up there in the mix in fourth place and have three former Newcastle players now in their matchday squads. Dan Gosling, Achraf Lazaar and Rob Elliot, with Lazaar even getting on the pitch last weekend! He got the final 13 minutes in Watford’s 6-0 win over Bristol City.

Arguably top of the lot though of all of them AND still thankfully a Newcastle United player, is Freddie Woodman.

The NUFC goalkeeper is having an incredible year on loan at Swansea in his second season there.

Last night another brilliant performance, former Newcastle manager Chris Hughton left fuming, his Forest team definitely deserved to win but Freddie Woodman and Swansea kept them out, the Welsh side then landing the killer blow on 87 minutes when Roberts scored.

Woodman’s clean sheet was key, as indeed they have been all season, in 27 Championship games this season, Freddie Woodman with an amazing 16 clean sheets.

Swansea have scored the least goals of any club in the top seven of the Championship table but with only 15 conceded in 28 games, they have by far the best defensive record that has put them in such a strong position.

Last night’s win means Swansea and Freddie Woodman are now third but have two games in hand on the top two, only a point behind Brentford and four points adrift of Krul and Norwich. Win both matches in hand and Swansea are top.

In two weeks time (4 March 2021) Freddie Woodman turns 24 and is clearly a goalkeeper more than good enough for the Championship and who will surely be looking to be a Premier League keeper next season.

It is quite incredible the position Newcastle United now find themselves in with goalkeepers, major decisions to be made in the summer when Dubravka, Darlow and Woodman are the three options.

Rafa Benitez put together such a tight disciplined defensive unit of Martin Dubravka and a back four or five in front of him. The 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons seeing only six clubs concede fewer goals in each of those seasons.

Despite Dubravka’s ongoing heroics last season, under Steve Bruce’s management, Newcastle’s defence became the seventh worst in 2019/20 in terms of goals conceded.

The chaotic and clueless Bruce management continuing to impact even worse this season, despite Darlow taking over Dubravka’s mantle, with currently only three clubs having conceded more goals than Newcastle so far this season.

A lot of things are unpredictable about Newcastle United, as always, with who will be first (and second) choice keeper next season, just one of the many things we are set to discover in the coming months.

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